Kentuckians would be entitled to sign an advance directive indicating what kinds of mental health treatment they prefer, under House Bill 99, approved by the House Health and Welfare Committee yesterday. The bill allows people with mental health conditions to voice their feelings on certain treatments, choose whether they want electroconvulsive or "shock" therapy, and designate someone to make sure their wishes are carried out when they show up for treatment in a crisis, said Sheila Schuster, director of the Kentucky Mental Health Coalition.

The Health and Welfare Committee also approved bills to hire full-time ombudsmen throughout the state, to reactivate the Task Force on Quality Long Term Care, and to require state public policy to take into consideration options that would help the disabled and frail elderly to live at home rather than in institutions.

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