If, in the judgment of the chief officer of a hospital or facility operated or utilized within this state by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, the release therefrom of a department patient would endanger his or her life or property or the lives or property of others, such chief officer is authorized, pending the initiation of commitment proceedings, to retain custody of such patient for a reasonable time, not to exceed ten days, after receiving written demand for the patient’s release unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction notwithstanding that the patient shall have been admitted as a voluntary patient and without compliance with the admission procedures prescribed by law.