In August, Governor Murphy signed into law Senate Bill 3929 (approved P.L. 2023, c. 139), which amended the involuntary commitment process and added, among other things, a mechanism by which hospitals could request an additional 72 hours to hold patients when having difficulty locating a short-term care or psychiatric facility, or special psychiatric hospital with an available bed and willing to accept transfer of the patient. Given the lack of uniformity of how hospitals throughout New Jersey have historically handled such situations, it is important for hospitals to examine this new law and ensure their policies and processes are in line with the new requirements. For more information, please see our recently published Client Alert.
New Jersey Revises Involuntary Commitment Law, Requiring Hospitals to Change Handling of Patients in Need of Involuntary Commitment
