Important Points

S.C. does not recognize Statements of Desires without appointment of an agent/surrogate under a Health Care Power of Attorney. Forms for a Health Care Power of Attorney can be found with the Advance Directive Form on the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (BHDD) Office of Mental Health website or in the South Carolina Code of Laws – Unannotated, Title 62 – South Carolina Probate Code, Article 5, SECTION 62-5-504.

Your case manager or other mental health worker cannot be your agent.

It is important that you understand that in an emergency situation, a doctor can do something different from what you have stated in your Declaration for Mental Health Treatment, but the doctor must go through certain steps to do this.

It is up to you or your agent to make sure the hospital has a copy of your Declaration for Mental Health Treatment. You may want to have a copy placed in your outpatient record so that outpatient staff are aware of what hospital or crisis stabilization approaches you would prefer, if you are not able to express your own choices at the time.