(a) The following persons may apply for admission to a public or private hospital or treatment resource for diagnosis, observation and treatment of a mental illness or serious emotional disturbance:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 33-6-201

  • Child: means a person who is under eighteen (18) years of age. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Hospital: means a public or private hospital or facility or part of a hospital or facility equipped to provide inpatient care and treatment for persons with mental illness or serious emotional disturbance. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Mental illness: means a psychiatric disorder, alcohol dependence, or drug dependence, but does not include intellectual disability or other developmental disabilities as defined in title 52. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. Source: OCC
  • Qualified mental health professional: means a person who is licensed in the state, if required for the profession, and who is a psychiatrist. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Serious emotional disturbance: means a condition in a child who currently or at any time during the past year has had a diagnosable mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder of sufficient duration to meet psychiatric diagnostic criteria that results in functional impairment that substantially interferes with or limits the child's role or functioning in family, school, or community activities and includes any mental disorder, regardless of whether it is of biological etiology. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
  • Treatment resource: means any public or private facility, service, or program providing treatment or rehabilitation services for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance, including, but not limited to, detoxification centers, hospitals, community mental health centers, clinics or programs, halfway houses, and rehabilitation centers. See Tennessee Code 33-1-101
(1) A person who is sixteen (16) years of age or over and who does not lack capacity to apply under § 33-3-218;
(2) A parent, legal custodian, or legal guardian who is acting on behalf of a child;
(3) A conservator whom the appointing court has expressly granted authority to apply for the person’s admission to a hospital or treatment resource for mental illness or serious emotional disturbance;
(4) A qualified mental health professional acting on the basis of the terms of the person’s declaration for mental health treatment;
(5) A person’s attorney in fact under a durable power of attorney for health care, under title 34, chapter 6, part 2;
(6) A caregiver under title 34, chapter 6, part 3, who is acting on behalf of a child; or
(7) An individual acting as an agent under the Tennessee Health Care Decisions Act, compiled in title 68, chapter 11, part 18 or an individual designated as a surrogate under § 68-11-1806(a).
(b) An individual’s surrogate as designated under § 68-11-1806(c) may also apply for such admission provided no person may be admitted by a surrogate under this subsection (b) for more than twenty-one (21) consecutive days unless a petition has been filed pursuant to part 5 of this chapter, or unless an individual who meets any of the criteria set out in subdivisions (a)(1)-(7) of this section applies for voluntary admission subsequent to an application by a surrogate for voluntary admission under this section.
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