West Virginia Code Chapter 27. Mentally Ill Persons § 27-4-4. Admission and treatment of voluntary patients; statement of rights; consent for treatment

(a) No person shall be admitted as an inpatient into a mental health facility as a voluntary patient until such person has been told and has received a written statement containing in bold print a statement that once he voluntarily admits himself into such facility, his release may not be voluntary, that the facility may seek to involuntarily commit him and may hold him against his will for thirty days pending a hearing and indefinitely after the hearing if he is committed, and that such statement shall inform the individual that he may request release at any time. Further, the individual shall be advised in writing of his rights upon admission as an inpatient to a mental health facility, including, but not limited to, those rights afforded pursuant to section nine, article five of this chapter. A copy of the statement shall be filed in the individual's permanent records and shall contain the name of the person who made the oral and written disclosure.

(b) No voluntary inpatient shall be subjected to any course of treatment without such patient's written consent. Such consent shall be revocable at any time and shall not be valid for a period exceeding six months.

(c) One person in every mental health facility shall be designated as the voluntary patient coordinator. Such coordinator, or his designee while the coordinator is not on duty, shall be responsible for the disclosures required by this section and for any and all discussions with voluntary patients relative to release.