A private psychiatric hospital is a privately owned and operated establishment or institution exclusively for observing, diagnosing, or caring for people with signs or symptoms of mental illness.
A psychiatrist is the medical director, and is responsible for directing and supervising medical treatment and patient care 24 hours per day. In addition, the hospital must have on staff at least a mental health professional, psychiatric nurse, social worker, and an occupational therapist.
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Current Topics
- The department has collaborated with stakeholders and partners to establish rules regarding assessing civil fines on a psychiatric hospital for repeat violations. This work was done in order to implement the rulemaking requirement in HB 2426. The rules became effective on February 24, 2022. Please see the CR-103 (PDF) and the Concise Explanatory Statement (PDF) for additional information and details. The new language can be found in WAC 246-322-025.
- The department adopted/released an Interpretative Statement titled “Release of Voluntary Individuals from Inpatient Behavioral Health Settings (PDF).”