Rhode Island Dept. of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals v. R.B., 87-538-A

• Court: Rhode Island Supreme Court
• Writing for the Court: WEISBERGER
• Citation: Rhode Island Dept. of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals v. R.B., 549 A.2d 1028 (R.I. 1988)
• Decision Date: 23 November 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-538-A,87-538-A
• Parties: RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, RETARDATION AND HOSPITALS v. R.B. ppeal.

Page 1028

549 A.2d 1028

RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH, RETARDATION AND HOSPITALS v. R.B.

No. 87-538-Appeal.

Supreme Court of Rhode Island.

Nov. 23, 1988.

Judith S. Calcagni, Cranston, for plaintiff.

Peter N. Dennehy, Mental Health Advocate, Ruth A. Glassman, Legal Counsel, Mental Health Advocate Office, Cranston, for defendant.

OPINION

WEISBERGER, Justice.

This case comes before us on appeal by R.B. from an order of the District Court certifying him for outpatient treatment at the Kent County Community Mental Health Center. We affirm. The facts of the case insofar as pertinent to this appeal are as follows.

R.B. was brought before the District Court for civil certification pursuant to G.L. 1956 (1984 Reenactment) § 40.1-5-8. The petition was brought by the Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals (MHRH). R.B. at the time of the hearing was a twenty-seven-year-old man who had, according to the evidence, committed a violent unprovoked attack upon his father, an attack upon a ward nurse and several attacks upon his wife. Medical testimony indicated that he was suffering from a psychosis defined as paranoid schizophrenia exacerbated by alcohol abuse. Medical testimony also indicated that R.B. had suicidal tendencies which required intensive observation.

At the time of the final hearing on November 30, 1987, the psychiatrist who had attended R.B. at the Institute of Mental Health testified that R.B.'s condition was still such that his continued unsupervised presence in the community would give rise to a likelihood of serious harm to himself and others by reason of mental disability. He testified, however, that at this stage R.B. could be treated at a local community health center as an alternative to inpatient care. The trial justice found by clear and convincing evidence ¹ that R.B. was

"suffering from a mental illness and that he [was] in need of care and treatment in some type of facility and would benefit therefrom * * * and that [his] continued unsupervised presence in the community without this type of treatment * * * would [give rise to] a likelihood of serious harm by reason of this mental disability * * * to either himself or to others."

The judge then determined that R.B. was "certifiable with the alternative of having him be certified to a mental health clinic." The trial justice ordered that he be certified to the Kent County Community Mental Health Center for necessary outpatient treatment and supervision.

R.B. appealed this decision on the ground that the District Court was not authorized by statute to certify a person pursuant to § 40.1-5-8 to any facility save an inpatient facility. With this contention, we respectfully disagree.

In order to determine the authority vested in the District Court by the Rhode Island Mental Health Law, G.L. 1956 (1984 Reenactment) chapter 5 of title 40.1, it is necessary to examine the statute in its various parts.

Section 40.1-5-2 sets forth the definitions to be utilized throughout the chapter. Section 40.1-5-2(3) defines the term "facility" as follows:

"(3) 'Facility' means a state hospital or psychiatric inpatient facility in the department, a psychiatric inpatient facility maintained by a political subdivision of the state for the care and/or treatment of the mentally disabled, a general or specialized hospital maintaining staff and facilities for such purpose, any of the several community mental health services established pursuant to chapter 8.5 of this title, and any other facility within the state of Rhode Island providing inpatient psychiatric care and/or treatment and approved by the director upon application of said facility. Included within this definition shall be all hospitals, institutions, facilities and services under the control and direction of the director and the department, as provided in this chapter. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to amend or repeal any of the provisions of chapter 16 of title 23, and of chapter 13 of title 40." (Emphasis added.)

Section 40.1-5-2(15) defines "alternatives to admission or certification" in the following terms:

"(15) 'Alternatives to admission or certification' means alternatives to a particular facility or treatment program and shall include but not be limited to voluntary or court-ordered outpatient treatment, day treatment in a hospital, night treatment in a hospital, placement in the custody of a friend or relative placement in a nursing home, referral to a community mental health clinic and home health aide services, or any other services that may be deemed appropriate." (Emphasis added.)

Section 40.1-5-8(10) empowers the District Court to issue an order in the following circumstances and with the following limitations:

"(10) Order. If the court at a final hearing finds by clear and convincing evidence that the subject of the hearing is in need of care and treatment in a facility, and is one whose continued unsupervised presence in the community would by reason of mental disability create a likelihood of serious harm, and that all alternatives to certification have been investigated and deemed unsuitable, it shall issue an order committing the person to the custody of the director for care and treatment or to an appropriate facility. In either event and to the extent practicable, the person shall be cared for in a facility which imposes the least restraint upon the liberty of such person consistent with affording him the care and treatment necessary and appropriate to his condition. No certification shall be made under this section unless and until full consideration has been given by the certifying court to the alternatives to in-patient [sic] care, including, but not limited to, a determination of the person's relationship to the community and to his family, of his employment possibilities, and of all available community resources, alternate available living arrangements, foster care, community residential facilities, nursing homes, and other convalescent facilities. A certificate ordered pursuant to this section shall be valid for a period of six (6) months from the date of the order. At the end of that period the patient shall be discharged, unless he is discharged prior to that time, in which case the certification shall expire on the date of such discharge." (Emphasis added.)

It should be noted that the court is required to provide for care "in a facility which imposes the least restraint upon the liberty of such person consistent with affording him the care and treatment necessary and appropriate to his condition." Section 40.1-5-8(10) further states that the court must give "full consideration * * * to the alternatives to in-patient [sic ] care, including * * * all available community resources."

This court has long applied a canon of statutory interpretation which gives effect to all of a statute's provisions, with no sentence, clause or word construed as unmeaning or surplusage. State v. Caprio, 477 A.2d 67, 70 (R.I. 1984); In re Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights, 472 A.2d 1211, 1212 (R.I. 1984); Murphy v. Murphy, 471 A.2d 619, 622 (R.I. 1984); Spikes v. State, 458 A.2d 672, 674 (R.I. 1983); Probate Court of East Providence v. McCormick, 56 R.I. 308, 320, 185 A. 592, 597 (1936), rearg. denied, 57 R.I. 157, 189 A. 2 (1937). "Where one provision is part of the overall statutory scheme, the legislative intent must be gathered from the entire statute and not from an isolated provision." State v. Caprio, 477 A.2d at 70; accord In re Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights, 472 A.2d at 1212.

Applying this fundamental canon of statutory construction, w...