Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 16 > Article 30C - Do Not Resuscitate Act

• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Attending physician: means the physician selected by or assigned to the person who has primary responsibility for treatment or care of the person and who is a licensed physician. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• 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
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: means those measures used to restore or support cardiac or respiratory function in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• 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
• Do-not-resuscitate identification: means a standardized identification necklace, bracelet, card or physician orders for scope of treatment form as set forth in this article that signifies that a do-not-resuscitate order has been issued for the possessor. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Do-not-resuscitate order: means an order issued by a licensed physician that cardiopulmonary resuscitation should not be administered to a particular person. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Emergency medical services personnel: means paid or volunteer firefighters, law-enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics or other emergency services personnel, providers or entities acting within the usual course of their professions. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Health care decision: means a decision to give, withhold or withdraw informed consent to any type of health care, including, but not limited to, medical and surgical treatments, including life-prolonging interventions, nursing care, hospitalization, treatment in a nursing home or other extended care facility, home health care and the gift or donation of a body organ or tissue. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Health care facility: means a facility established to administer and provide health care services and which is commonly known by a wide variety of titles, including, but not limited to, hospitals, medical centers, ambulatory health care facilities, physicians'. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Health care provider: means any physician, dentist, nurse, paramedic, psychologist or other person providing medical, dental, nursing, psychological or other health care services of any kind. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Home: means any place of residence other than a health care facility and includes residential board and care homes and personal care homes. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Qualified physician: means a physician licensed to practice medicine who has personally examined the person. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Representative: means a person designated by a principal to make health care decisions in accordance with article thirty-a of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That beginning January 1, 2024, as used in this chapter, "secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• 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
• surrogate: means an individual eighteen years of age or older who is reasonably available, is willing to make health care decisions on behalf of an incapacitated person, possesses the capacity to make health care decisions and is identified or selected by the attending physician or advanced nurse practitioner in accordance with applicable provisions of article thirty of this chapter as the person or persons who is to make decisions pursuant to this article: Provided, That a representative named in the incapacitated person'. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3
• Trauma: means blunt or penetrating bodily injuries from impact which occur in situations, including, but not limited to, motor vehicle collisions, mass casualty incidents and industrial accidents. See West Virginia Code 16-30C-3