5150 & You

5150 is a specific California Welfare and Institutions Code, which allows a professional person designated by Fresno County to take you to an approved psychiatric facility for involuntary 72-hour treatment and evaluation. This person could be a police officer or perhaps a crisis Mental Health worker.

You were admitted to the hospital for one or more of the following reasons: It was in the opinion of the professional staff that because of a mental disorder, you were either:

• A danger to yourself, and/or
• A danger to someone else, and/or
• Unable to provide your own food, shelter, or clothing (also called "Grave Disability").

The psychiatrist or psychologist working with him/her who is treating you can keep you in the hospital up to 72 hours. (This 72 hour period includes weekends.) However, if the psychiatrist/psychologist feels that you are no longer a danger to yourself, a danger to others, or gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder, you can be released before the 72 hours is over.

No. You must remain in the hospital until your psychiatrist discharges you, or until the 72 hours is over.

Yes. If at the end of the 72 hours, your psychiatrist still believes you to be a danger to yourself, a danger to others, and/or gravely disabled, as a result of a mental disorder, you can be held involuntarily for more than 72 hours. However, if the psychiatrist believes you are capable of signing in as a voluntary patient, you have the right to be given this opportunity.

After the initial 72 hours, your psychiatrist can request to keep you in the hospital, up to 14 more days. However, a Certification Hearing must be held within four days to determine if there is good reason for your psychiatrist to keep you in the hospital longer.

A Certification Hearing is also known as a Probable Cause Hearing. It is an informal hearing held at the hospital to determine if there is "good cause" to keep you in the hospital.
At the hearing, a hearing officer will determine whether or not you are still a danger to yourself, a danger to others, or gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder. If there is no good cause to keep you in the hospital, the hearing officer can discharge you from the hospital immediately. If there is good cause, the hearing officer will allow your psychiatrist to keep you in the hospital for up to fourteen more days.

Yes. As soon as the psychiatrist believes you are no longer a danger to yourself, a danger to others, or gravely disabled, he or she will release you from the hospital.

At any time after you have been notified of the psychiatrist's request to keep you in the hospital longer, you can request a Writ of Habeas Corpus. This is a request for a formal superior court hearing if you believe you should be released from the hospital. At this hearing a Superior Court Judge of Fresno County will decide if the psychiatrist has good cause to keep you in the hospital. You should keep in mind that if you request a writ of Habeas Corpus hearing prior to the probable cause hearing, the probable cause hearing will not be held. Therefore, you may want to wait until after the probable cause hearing before requesting a writ of Habeas Corpus. In this way you will have two opportunities to be released from the hospital.

Just ask a staff member or contact your Patients' Rights Advocate and he or she will provide you with the necessary forms for you to sign. The telephone number for the Patients' Rights Advocate in Fresno County is printed on the cover of the Patients’ Rights Handbook.

In most cases it takes two working days after you request a Writ of Habeas Corpus. Therefore, if you request a Writ of Habeas Corpus on Friday, it is possible you may not appear in court until the following Tuesday.

If you are an involuntary patient, and your psychiatrist believes medication would be necessary for your treatment, you may be forced to take medication. It is illegal for hospital staff to administer medication to you simply for their convenience.

At the end of 14 days, a number of things could happen:

• You could be released from the hospital.
• If the reason you were certified for 14 days was because of grave disability, temporary conservatorship may be established if the doctor treating you believes you are still gravely disabled.
• If you are considered to be a danger to yourself, you may be recertified for an additional 14 days.
• If you are considered a danger to others, you may be post-certified which can allow the doctor to keep you in the hospital up to 180 days.
• If the psychiatrist wants to keep you in the hospital beyond the 14 days, he or she would again need the approval of the Fresno County Superior Court.

You need to show that you are not a danger to yourself, a danger to others, or gravely disabled:

• At the end of 14 days, a number of things could happen:
  • Do not attempt or threaten to hurt yourself or others.
  • Show that you are interested in your own well-being by expressing an interest in food, maintaining your personal hygiene, and wearing clean clothes.
  • Avoid physical and verbal confrontations with staff members and other patients.
  • Do not do anything that will encourage staff to put you into seclusion.
  • To avoid being held for grave disability, get into contact with friends or relatives who would be willing to support or help you if you were released from the hospital. You may want to let your Patients' Rights Advocate know who these people are so he or she can assist you.