N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 14 § 580.1

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 51, December 18, 2024

Section 580.1 - Background and intent

(a) This Part is intended to promote the application of the most effective methods, including the use of evidence-based practices, to assist persons diagnosed with mental illness achieve maximum recovery while assuring their safety and general well-being.

(b) The Mental Hygiene Law requires certification by the Commissioner of Mental Health for the operation of any part of a general hospital for the purpose of providing, on a residential (i.e., inpatient) basis, examination, diagnosis, care, treatment, rehabilitation or training to anyone with a disorder or disturbance in behavior, feeling, thinking or judgment so severe as to require care and treatment for mental illness. Such a facility may range in scale from a single ward or designated floor to an entire wing or nearby complex of buildings operated as part of a general hospital as defined in article 28 of the Public Health Law.

(1) Persons with mental illness may require medical or surgical treatment for conditions other than, and not necessarily related to, mental illness. This Part is not intended to apply to parts of general hospitals which admit individuals with mental illness only incidentally to their primary purposes or which provide intensive specialized medical or surgical treatment to individuals with mental illness necessitated by events such as attempted suicide.

(2) Persons with mental illness may require immediate care and treatment in an emergency at a general hospital which does not regularly operate a psychiatric inpatient unit. This Part is not intended to inhibit the provision of emergency psychiatric services in such circumstances.

(3) A general hospital operating a ward, wing or unit for the provision of inpatient psychiatric services shall have the prior approval and certification of the commissioner pursuant to Part 551 of this Part. Inpatient psychiatric services that are otherwise provided by general hospitals, such as in the form of an organized program of psychiatric consultation to medical or surgical services, are not subject to this Part, unless they are operated as part of a distinct psychiatric inpatient unit.

(c) This Part prescribes standards for certification. Certification does not confer eligibility to receive financial support from any governmental source.

(d) It is the intent of this Part to foster increased responsibility of psychiatric units to evaluate and review their own services. However, such units must: prepare an adequate plan for services which addresses modalities of care within the realm of behavioral healthcare and its associated comorbidities; have and reinforce staff training rooted in mental health services and promoting active treatment and recovery-oriented care; ensure staff have appropriate credentials and commensurate experience with the locus of care where they are working, promote individual rights, shared decision-making, and patient-centered care; define clear goals for admission and discharge preparedness; and, establish organizational policies and procedures which will facilitate implementation of the plan.

(e) It is the intention of this Part to provide for a person-centered process, which, to the maximum extent possible, an individual participates in the planning of their services and makes informed choices about the services and supports that they receive. Compliance with this Part shall ensure that services are collaborative in nature and based on the individual's interests, preferences, strengths, and needs, are designed to empower the individual by fostering skills to achieve desired personal relationships, community participation, dignity, and respect and that the individual is satisfied with activities, supports, and services.

(f) The provisions of section 580.8 of this Part set forth standards for the physical plant, or premises, of psychiatric inpatient units of general hospitals, and are intended to fully supersede any other regulations in this title previously utilized for this purpose.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 14 § 580.1

Amended New York State Register December 18, 2024/Volume XLVI, Issue 51, eff. 12/18/2024