As a regular ordinary citizen living in the city of Norfolk, why might this be important to you?

For this example, if you will, let's just say that a loved one is having a psychiatric emergency. This could be someone who has an ongoing mental illness, could be someone who is elderly and suffering from dementia,  could be someone who because of a medical problem is exhibiting psychiatric symptoms,  or could be a cousin who is in distress because of alcohol or drug use.

Let's use your mom. You call 911 and the police and paramedics show up at your house and the paramedics take your mom to Norfolk General Hospital Emergency Room.

When they arrive there your mom is checked out by a medical doctor and then a person comes into the room.

Hi, I'm June Thompson, I'm here to evaluate your mom.

Who are you and who do you work for?

Ahh, actually, right now I'm working for NGH.

I see that your badge says Sentara/NCSB.

Yes, it does.

It's my understanding that a worker from the CSB would evaluate my mom.

Yes, that's true.

Hmmm, I'm a little confused. The Virginia code states that an evaluator can't be an employee of the hospital where my mom will be detained.

Yes, that's true.

Then what is your status, you surely can't be representing the hospital and the CSB at the same time, can you? Ms. Thompson, how can this be?

That's a good question.

And, what's your response?

Well, I'm not sure how to answer that. The only thing I know is that my supervisor told me that I had to go through Sentara's orientation process, wear this Sentara badge, and when I'm told, come to work here in the ER.

What happens when you get to the ER?

Well, the doctors and nurses tell me what to do. You know, tell me who to evaluate.

Would it be fair to say that you take orders from the doctors and nurses?

You might say that, but, listen, I'm really independent of them. Sort of.

This doesn't make any sense to me, there's no logic or reason here. At this time, are you working a shift for NGH?

Sir, I work for the City of Norfolk...well, when I'm not working for the hospital. You know. But, yes, I guess you could say I'm working a shift for NGH.

It's now 7PM. When did your shift start?

Well, 4PM.

When is it over?

It's an eight-hour shift. My shift ends at midnight.

Now, if you detain my mom, who will you be working for when you go to the magistrate?

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In theory, at least, an evaluator should be completely disinterested. They should exam the facts, listen to anyone who has information about the person being evaluated, and make the decision to detain or not without being influenced by anyone.

Doctors understandably rule the hospitals and that's just the way it is and should be, as they are held responsible and accountable for taking care of their patients. However, they should not be able to order someone to be detained. Under the present working conditions, with the CSB evaluator acting as an employee of NGH, is this being done? I do not know. I do know that the relationship NCSB/NGH can surely taint, to some degree, the autonomy of the evaluator, which is why the code is written as it is.