(a) Department means the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center and Director means the Director of the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center.

(b) Facility means a public or privately operated institution operated by or contracted with a Government of Guam agency, which has been designated by the Director as being adequately equipped for the care of persons suffering from mental illness.

(c) Gravely disabled means a person who, as a result of mental disorder, is unable to use the elements of life which are essential to health or safety, including food, clothing or shelter, even though provided to the person by others.

(d) Investigator or Investigating Officer means a person or organization appointed by a Judge of the Superior Court.

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CH. 82 MENTALLY ILL PERSONS

(e) Mentally ill or Mentally disordered means a person having a psychiatric or other disorder, which substantially impairs the person’s mental health, but does not include a person suffering from:

(1) epilepsy; or

(2) mental retardation; or

(3) brief periods of intoxication caused by substances such as alcohol and drugs.

(f) Patient means a person under evaluation, care or treatment in a facility pursuant to the provisions of this Title.

(g) Professional staff, professional person or qualified mental health professional means a licensed professional qualified by training or experience in the diagnosis of mental or related illness. The following licensed professionals shall be so designated:

(1) a psychiatrist;

(2) a clinical psychologist;

(3) a certified psychiatric nurse at the Master’s level; or

(4) a physician.

(h) Restraint means the involuntary immobilization of a person through the use of chemical, mechanical or physical means.

(1) Chemical Restraint means a drug or medicine used as a restraint to control behavior or to restrict an individual’s freedom of movement that is not standard treatment for an individual’s medical or psychiatric condition.

(2) Mechanical restraint means the use of a mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or adjacent to the person’s body that he or she cannot easily remove and that restricts normal access to the person’s body.

(3) Physical restraint means the use of a physical hold to restrict freedom of movement of all or part of a person’s body to restrict normal access to the person’s body, which is used as a behavioral restraint.

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CH. 82 MENTALLY ILL PERSONS

(i) Seclusion means a behavior technique involving locked isolation, but does not include a time out.

(j) Time out means a behavior management technique that is part of an approved treatment program and may involve the separation of the client or student from others, in a non-locked setting, for the purpose of calming. Time out is not seclusion.

(k) Treatment shall mean any therapy approved by the American Psychiatric Association or other recognized medical body, but shall not include those forms of treatment known as ElectroConvulsive Shock, Insulin Shock, Psycho-Surgery or any other measure which requires the physical invasion of the patient’s body.

SOURCE: Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 19-016:1 (Apr. 11, 1988). Amended by
P.L. 28-173:2 (Jan. 29, 2007) effective, Oct. 1, 2007.

2013 NOTE: Pursuant to P.L. 32-024:2 (May 6, 2013) which renamed the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse (DMHSA) to the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center, all references to DMHSA were altered to the Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center pursuant to P.L. 32-024:4.