Iowa Code § 229.22 — IA Code / Title VI / Chapter 229 / Section 229.22
Hospitalization — emergency procedure.
Status: in_force

(1) The procedure prescribed by this section shall be used when it appears that a person should be immediately detained due to serious mental impairment, but an application has not been filed naming the person as the respondent pursuant to section 229.6, and the person cannot be ordered into immediate custody and detained pursuant to section 229.11.

(2) (a) In the circumstances described in subsection 1, any peace officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a person is mentally ill, and because of that illness is likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, may without a warrant take or cause that person to be taken to the nearest available facility or hospital as defined in section 229.11, subsection 1, paragraphs “b” and “c”. A person believed mentally ill, and likely to injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, may be delivered to a facility or hospital by someone other than a peace officer.

(2) (a) Upon delivery of the person believed mentally ill to the facility or hospital, the examining physician, examining physician assistant, examining mental health professional, or examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner may order treatment of that person, including chemotherapy, but only to the extent necessary to preserve the person’s life or to appropriately control behavior by the person which is likely to result in physical injury to that person or others if allowed to continue.

(2) (a) The peace officer who took the person into custody, or other party who brought the person to the facility or hospital, shall describe the circumstances of the matter to the examining physician, examining physician assistant, examining mental health professional, or examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner. If the person is a peace officer, the peace officer may do so either in person or by written report.

(2) (a) If the examining physician, examining physician assistant, examining mental health professional, or examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner finds that there is reason to believe that the person is seriously mentally impaired, and because of that impairment is likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, the facility shall have the authority to detain the person for a period of no longer than twelve hours. Within twelve hours of detaining a person pursuant to this section, the examining physician, examining physician assistant, examining mental health professional, or examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner shall communicate with the nearest available magistrate.

(2) (a) Once contacted pursuant to subparagraph division (a), the magistrate shall, based upon the circumstances described by the examining physician, examining physician assistant, examining mental health professional, or examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner, give the examining physician, examining physician assistant, examining mental health professional, or examining psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner oral instructions either directing that the person be released forthwith or authorizing the person’s detention in an appropriate facility. A peace officer from the law enforcement agency that took the person into custody, if available, during the communication with the magistrate, may inform the magistrate that an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against the person and request that any oral or written order issued under this subsection require the facility or hospital to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge. The magistrate may also give oral instructions and order that the detained person be transported to an appropriate facility.

(2) (b) If the magistrate orders that the person be detained, the magistrate shall, by the close of business on the next working day, file a written order with the clerk in the county where it is anticipated that an application may be filed under section 229.6. The order may be filed by facsimile if necessary. A peace officer from the law enforcement agency that took the person into custody, if no request was made under paragraph “a”, may inform the magistrate that an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against the person and request that any written order issued under this paragraph require the facility or hospital to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge. The order shall state the circumstances under which the person was taken into custody or otherwise brought to a facility or hospital, and the grounds supporting the finding of probable cause to believe that the person is seriously mentally impaired and likely to injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained. The order shall also include any law enforcement agency notification requirements if applicable. The order shall confirm the oral order authorizing the person’s detention including any order given to transport the person to an appropriate facility or hospital. A peace officer from the law enforcement agency that took the person into custody may also request an order, separate from the written order, requiring the facility or hospital to notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge. The clerk shall provide a copy of the written order or any separate order to the chief medical officer of the facility or hospital to which the person was originally taken, to any subsequent facility to which the person was transported, and to any law enforcement department, ambulance service, or transportation service under contract with an administrative services organization that transported the person pursuant to the magistrate’s order. A transportation service that contracts with an administrative services organization for purposes of this paragraph shall provide a secure transportation vehicle and shall employ staff that has received or is receiving mental health training.

(2) (c) If an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against the person, but no court order exists requiring notification to a law enforcement agency under paragraph “a” or “b”, and if the peace officer delivers the person to a facility or hospital and the peace officer notifies the facility or hospital in writing on a form prescribed by the department of public safety that the facility or hospital notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person prior to discharge, the facility or hospital shall do all of the following:

(2) (c) Notify the dispatch of the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer by telephone prior to the discharge of the person from the facility or hospital.

(2) (c) Notify the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer by electronic mail prior to the discharge of the person from the facility or hospital.

(3) The chief medical officer of the facility or hospital shall examine and may detain and care for the person taken into custody under the magistrate’s order for a period not to exceed forty-eight hours from the time such order is dated, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, unless the order is sooner dismissed by a magistrate. The facility or hospital may provide treatment which is necessary to preserve the person’s life, or to appropriately control behavior by the person which is likely to result in physical injury to the person’s self or others if allowed to continue, but may not otherwise provide treatment to the person without the person’s consent. The person shall be discharged from the facility or hospital and released from custody not later than the expiration of that period, unless an application is sooner filed with the clerk pursuant to section 229.6. Prior to such discharge the facility or hospital shall, if required by this section, notify the law enforcement agency requesting such notification about the discharge of the person. The law enforcement agency shall retrieve the person no later than six hours after notification from the facility or hospital but in no circumstances shall the detention of the person exceed the period of time prescribed for detention by this subsection. The detention of any person by the procedure and not in excess of the period of time prescribed by this section shall not render the peace officer, physician, mental health professional, facility, or hospital so detaining that person liable in a criminal or civil action for false arrest or false imprisonment if the peace officer, physician, mental health professional, facility, or hospital had reasonable grounds to believe the person so detained was mentally ill and likely to physically injure the person’s self or others if not immediately detained, or if the facility or hospital was required to notify a law enforcement agency by this section, and the law enforcement agency requesting notification prior to discharge retrieved the person no later than six hours after the notification, and the detention prior to the retrieval of the person did not exceed the period of time prescribed for detention by this subsection.

(4) The cost of hospitalization at a public hospital of a person detained temporarily by the procedure prescribed in this section shall be paid in the same way as if the person had been admitted to the hospital by the procedure prescribed in sections 229.6 through 229.13.

(5) The department of public safety shall prescribe the form to be used when a law enforcement agency desires notification under this section from a facility or hospital prior to discharge of a person admitted to the facility or hospital and for whom an arrest warrant has been issued or against whom charges are pending. The form shall be consistent with all laws, regulations, and rules relating to the confidentiality or privacy of personal information or medical records, including but not limited to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-191, and regulations promulgated in accordance with that Act and published in 45 C.F.R. pts. 160 – 164.

(6) A facility or hospital, which has been notified by a peace officer or a law enforcement agency by delivery of a form as prescribed by the department of public safety indicating that an arrest warrant has been issued for or charges are pending against a person admitted to the facility or hospital, that does not notify the law enforcement agency about the discharge of the person as required by subsection 2, paragraph “c”, shall pay a civil penalty as provided in section 805.8C, subsection 9.

[C77, 79, 81, §229.22]95 Acts, ch 24, §2; 2003 Acts, ch 68, §3, 4; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §227; 2010 Acts, ch 1103, §1, 2; 2011 Acts, ch 34, §55; 2012 Acts, ch 1079, §15; 2013 Acts, ch 90, §54; 2013 Acts, ch 130, §50, 51; 2014 Acts, ch 1092, §173; 2015 Acts, ch 37, §1; 2017 Acts, ch 34, §15, 16; 2018 Acts, ch 1056, §12; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §123; 2022 Acts, ch 1071, §5; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §87, 137