Discussion on The Baker Act Law

Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
Date
1 Cite the Baker Act law to defend your position.
The Baker Act was a law introduced in Florida in 1972, which aims to protect the welfare of the individuals who live in the said state with mental incapacity via a temporary lawful restraint of not more than 72 hours, according to the Florida Statute Chapter 394. The law, by all means, prohibits long-term detention of the patient. The criteria for legibility for involuntary restraint are as follows: First, there should be sufficient evidence ruling in mental incapacity of the interested party, and the individual has, at all means, rejected any form of examination voluntarily. Second, the individual cannot properly assess his need for an intervention, and the condition will progressively worsen without treatment. Third, the individual is predisposed to harm others and oneself, as evidenced by the current assessment (Lenderman & Cadigan, 2016).
According to Article 394.455, Section 29 of the Baker Act, mental illness pertains to the problems with mental or emotional processes that should be practiced voluntarily by the individual secondary to one’s autonomy and to the individual’s ability to distinguish comprehend reality. His inability to form judgment impairs everyday living, including the performance of ordinary daily activities. The condition should not be attributed to other causes, including traumatic brain injury, dementia, substance abuse, intoxication, or antisocial behavior (Lenderman & Cadigan, 2016).
The treatment can be provided voluntarily or involuntarily in cases where the individual is incompetent to consent to treatment, which is defined in Article 394.455, Section 22 of the Baker Act as the inability of the person to judge the necessity for medical intervention secondary to mental illness or substance abuse, resulting to the inability to make a sound judgment. The individual will be held as incapacitated, defined in Article 394.455, Section 21 of the Baker Act as the transfer of care to the individual’s guardian under part V of chapter 744 (Lenderman & Cadigan, 2016).
In the presented case, patient K.W. was discovered to lack self-care initiative, as evidenced by eating a McDonald’s hamburger at the trash area and drinking water from an old water hose. Furthermore, the individual refused to take a bath for several weeks after roaming around the dirty streets and refused to live in an apartment in an attempt to savor the “fat of the land.”
Based on Poupart et al. (2021), the patient probably has a delusion, which is defined by a false belief not affected by one’s religious beliefs, cultural norms, or level of intelligence. This is relatively indistinguishable from misconstrued beliefs, but the concepts o...