In the House this morning for interims. Hearing from Rodney Miller about sheriff department involvement in mental hygiene commitments in the state. Sheriff departments must carry out mental hygiene orders, sitting with patients while they are medically cleared to go to psych.

Miller says deputies get 5 hours of training to deal with mental health issues, yet they take custody of people at their worst moments. He says that’s not the best interest of patients.

“Inherently you have a police officer is mean to a mental hygiene patient when they handle them physically because that’s how they are trained,” Miller said.

A bill to remove the medical clearance from the mental hygiene process died in the past session. The point was to help sheriff departments out. Small counties, for example, may have one deputy on night shift and they have to take hours doing mental hygiene orders.

A doctor with Bateman hospital said the medical clearance is important for patient safety. For example, seniors with UTIs can present with psychosis. If they go straight to a mental health facility, their outcomes can be worse.