New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 3 - Executive Orders (Hugh L. Carey) › Section 3.35 - Executive order no. 35: establishing the mental hygiene medical review board

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, the quality of care provided to the mentally
					 disabled in State facilities is a matter of great concern to the People of the
					 State; and
WHEREAS, one indicator of the quality of care provided to
					 the mentally disabled in State facilities is the number of unusual deaths which
					 occur in such facilities; and
WHEREAS, it is essential to determine the causes of such
					 deaths in order to continue the process of upgrading the quality of care to the
					 mentally disabled in State facilities;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Hugh L. Carey, Governor of the State of
					 New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws
					 of the State, do hereby establish a Mental Hygiene Medical Review Board to be
					 composed of five members, including specialists in forensic pathology, forensic
					 psychiatry and internal medicine, to be appointed by the Governor to serve at
					 his pleasure. The Governor shall designate one of the members to serve as
					 chairman of the Mental Hygiene Medical Review Board. Members of the Board shall
					 receive no compensation for their [continued] services but shall be reimbursed
					 for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their
					 duties.
I. The Mental Hygiene Medical
				  Review Board shall:
make a preliminary determination whether the death of a
					 patient in a facility operated by the Department of Mental Hygiene, which has
					 been brought to its attention, is unusual or whether such death reasonably
					 appears to have resulted from other than natural causes and warrants
					 investigation;
investigate the causes of and circumstances surrounding
					 such unusual death or deaths from other than natural causes of patients in
					 facilities operated by the Department of Mental Hygiene;
visit and inspect any facility in which such a death has
					 occurred;
cause the body of the deceased to undergo such
					 examinations, including an autopsy where authorized by law, as in the opinion
					 of the Board are necessary to determine the cause of death, irrespective of
					 whether such examination or autopsy shall have been previously
					 performed;
upon review of the cause of and circumstances surrounding
					 such death, submit its report to the Special Assistant to the Governor for
					 Health Affairs and, where appropriate, shall make recommendations to prevent
					 the recurrence of such deaths; and upon request of the Special Assistant to the
					 Governor for Health Affairs or of the Commissioner, investigate and report on
					 the adequacy and quality of medical care provided to the mentally disabled by
					 the Department, a facility or a part thereof.
II. In carrying out its functions, powers and
				  duties the Board shall, to the extent feasible, make use of the resources of
				  existing State departments and agencies and the personnel thereof and such
				  departments and agencies are hereby directed to assist the Board as requested
				  by the chairman. The chairman may employ such personnel as he deems necessary
				  and desirable to carry out the functions, powers and duties of the Board and
				  provide them with compensation within the amounts available therefor.
III. The director of every facility operated
				  by the Department of Mental Hygiene shall promptly report to the chairman of
				  the Board the occurrence of any unusual death or death from other than natural
				  causes of a patient in such facility. The Department of Mental Hygiene and
				  every officer and employee thereof shall cooperate with the Board in its
				  performance of its duties pursuant to this order and shall provide it with any
				  information, book or record requested by a member of the Board.
Signed: Hugh L. CareyDated: May 19, 1976
[FN*] [Amended by Executive Order No. 44 (Hugh L. Carey),
					 §
											3.44, infra.]