West Virginia Code 16-5B-1 – Health facilities and certain other facilities operated in connection therewith to obtain license; exemptions; meaning of hospital, etc
No person, partnership, association, corporation, or any local governmental unit or any division, department, board or agency thereof shall establish, conduct, or maintain in the State of West Virginia any ambulatory health care facility, ambulatory surgical facility, freestanding or operated in connection with a hospital, hospital or extended care facility operated in connection with a hospital, without first obtaining a license therefor in the manner hereinafter provided: Provided, That only one license shall be required for any person, partnership, association, corporation or any local governmental unit or any division, department, board or agency thereof who operates any combination of an ambulatory health care facility, ambulatory surgical facility, hospital, extended care facility operated in connection with a hospital, or more than one thereof, at the same location. Ambulatory health care facilities, ambulatory surgical facilities, hospitals, or extended care facilities operated in connection with a hospital operated by the federal government or the state government shall be exempt from the provisions of this article.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-5B-1
- board: means a board of health serving one or more counties or one or more municipalities or a combination thereof. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "department" and "Department of Health and Human Resources" means the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
A hospital or extended care facility operated in connection with a hospital, within the meaning of this article, shall mean any institution, place, building or agency in which an accommodation of five or more beds is maintained, furnished or offered for the hospitalization of the sick or injured: Provided, That nothing contained in this article shall apply to nursing homes, rest homes, personal care facilities, homes for the aged, extended care facilities not operated in connection with a hospital, boarding homes, homes for the infirm or chronically ill, convalescent homes, hotels or other similar places that furnish to their guests only board and room, or either of them: Provided, however, That the hospitalization, care or treatment in a household, whether for compensation or not, of any person related by blood or marriage, within the degree of consanguinity of second cousin to the head of the household, or his or her spouse, shall not be deemed to constitute the premises a hospital or extended care facility operated in connection with a hospital, within the meaning of this article.
An "ambulatory health care facility" shall include any facility which provides health care or mental health care to noninstitutionalized persons on an outpatient basis. This definition does not include the legally authorized practice of medicine by any one or more persons in the private office of any health care provider.
"Ambulatory surgical facility" means a facility which provides surgical treatment to patients not requiring hospitalization. This definition does not include the legally authorized practice of surgery by any one or more persons in the private office of any health care provider.
Nothing in this article or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be construed to authorize the licensure, supervision, regulation or control in any manner of (1) private offices of physicians, dentists or other practitioners of the healing arts; (2) dispensaries and first aid stations located within business or industrial establishments maintained solely for the use of employees: Provided, That such facility does not contain inpatient or resident beds for patients or employees who generally remain in the facility for more than twenty-four hours.
Nothing in this article shall authorize any person, partnership, association, corporation, or any local governmental unit or any division, department, board or agency thereof to engage in any manner in the practice of medicine, as defined by law. This article shall not be construed to restrict or modify any statute pertaining to the placement or adoption of children.