{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-202a.028","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 202A.028","heading":"Hospitalization by court order -- Transportation -- Release.    (Effective","body":"until October 1, 2026)\n(1) Following an examination by a qualified mental health professional and a\ncertification by that professional that the person meets the criteria for involun tary\nhospitalization, a judge may order the person hospitalized for a period not to exceed\nseventy-two (72) hours, excluding weekends and holidays. For the purposes of this\nsection, the qualified mental health professional shall be:\n(a) A staff member of a  regional community program for mental health or\nindividuals with an intellectual disability;\n(b) An individual qualified and licensed to perform the examination through the\nuse of telehealth services; or\n(c) The psychiatrist ordered, subject to the court' s discretion, to perform the\nrequired examination.\n(2) Any person who has been admitted to a hospital under subsection (1) of this section\nshall be released from the hospital within seventy -two (72) hours, excluding\nweekends and holidays, unless further he ld under the applicable provisions of this\nchapter.\n(3) Any person admitted to a hospital under subsection (1) of this section or transferred\nto a hospital while ordered hospitalized under subsection (1) of this section shall be\ntransported from the person 's home county by the sheriff of that county or other\npeace officer as ordered by the court. The sheriff or other peace officer may, upon\nagreement of a person authorized by the peace officer, authorize the cabinet, a\nprivate agency on contract with the ca binet, or an ambulance service designated by\nthe cabinet to transport the person to the hospital. The transportation costs of the\nsheriff, other peace officer, ambulance service, or other private agency on contract\nwith the cabinet shall be paid by the cab inet in accordance with an administrative\nregulation promulgated by the cabinet, pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A.\n(4) Any person released from the hospital under subsection (2) of this section shall be\ntransported to the person's county of discharge by a sheri ff or other peace officer,\nby an ambulance service designated by the cabinet, or by other appropriate means\nof transportation which is consistent with the treatment plan of that person. The\ntransportation cost of transporting the patient to the patient's c ounty of discharge\nwhen performed by a peace officer, ambulance service, or other private agency on\ncontract with the cabinet shall be paid by the cabinet in accordance with an\nadministrative regulation issued by the cabinet pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A.\n(5) No person who has been held under subsection (1) of this section shall be held in\njail pending evaluation and transportation to the hospital.\nEffective: June 24, 2015","path":["KRS Chapter 202A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=44467","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:58Z","sha256":"db2c710798f37bd6530ca3b86886418563101fd9c87c8c48ed4a801e0e9b1cca","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-202a.026","next":"us-ky/krs-202a.029"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}