Terms Used In West Virginia Code > Chapter 3 > Article 1 - General Provisions and Definitions

• Abortion: means the use of any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance or device with intent to terminate the pregnancy of a female known to be pregnant and with intent to cause the expulsion of a fetus other than by live birth. See West Virginia Code 16-2F-2
• Abortion: means the same as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Addiction: means a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Affected person: means :

  (A) The applicant. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• aggrieved person: means a person who:

  (1) Is denied by the planning commission, board of subdivision and land development appeals, or the board of zoning appeals, in whole or in part, the relief sought in any application or appeal. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2

• AIDS: means acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Aircraft: has the meaning provided in §. See West Virginia Code 8-29-1
• Airport: means any airport, heliport, helistop, vertiport, gliderport, seaplane base, ultralight flightpark, manned balloon launching facility, or other aircraft landing or takeoff area operated by an airport operator as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 8-29-1
• Alcohol and drug abuse counselor: means a counselor certified by the West Virginia Certification Board for Addiction and Prevention Professionals for specialized work with patients who have substance use problems. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• all elections: shall include every general, primary, or special election held in this state, or in any of its subdivisions, for the purpose of nominating or electing federal or state officers, or county, city, town or village officers of any subdivision now existing or hereafter created, or for the purpose of electing members of a Constitutional convention, or for voting upon any public question submitted to the people of the state or any of the aforesaid subdivisions. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• Ambulance: means any privately or publicly-owned vehicle or aircraft which is designed, constructed or modified. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Ambulatory health care facility: means a facility that provides health services to noninstitutionalized and nonhomebound persons on an outpatient basis. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Applicant: means a person applying for a certificate of need, exemption or determination of review. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Assisted living residence: means any living facility, residence, or place of accommodation, however named, available for four or more residents, in this state which is advertised, offered, maintained, or operated by the ownership or management, whether for a consideration or not, for the express or implied purpose of having personal assistance or supervision, or both, provided to any residents therein who are dependent upon the services of others by reason of physical or mental impairment and who may also require nursing care at a level that is not greater than limited and intermittent nursing care: Provided, That the 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, may not be deemed to constitute an assisted living residence within the meaning of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Attempt to perform or induce an abortion: means the same as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Authority: means a regional airport authority created pursuant to the provisions of this article. See West Virginia Code 8-29-1
• Authority: means the West Virginia Health Care Authority as provided in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Because of a disability: means on account of the presence or presumed presence of a disability or diagnosis in a fetus including, but not limited to, chromosomal disorders or morphological malformations occurring as the result of atypical gene expressions. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Bed capacity: means the number of beds licensed to a health care facility or the number of adult and pediatric beds permanently staffed and maintained for immediate use by inpatients in patient rooms or wards in an unlicensed facility. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Birthing center: means a short-stay ambulatory health care facility designed for low-risk births following normal uncomplicated pregnancy. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• 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
• board: means a board of health serving one or more counties or one or more municipalities or a combination thereof. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the department. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Bureau: means the Bureau for Children and Families Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5K-2
• Campus: means the physical area immediately adjacent to the hospital's main buildings, other areas, and structures that are not strictly contiguous to the main buildings, but are located within 250 yards of the main buildings. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Candidate: shall mean any person to be voted for at an election. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• Capable of self-preservation: means that a person is, at a minimum, physically capable of removing himself or herself from situations involving imminent danger such as fire. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Capital expenditure: means :

  (A) (i) An expenditure made by or on behalf of a health care facility, which:

  (I) Under generally accepted accounting principles is not properly chargeable as an expense of operation and maintenance. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2

• Case law: The law as laid down in cases that have been decided in the decisions of the courts.
• Center for Substance Abuse Treatment: means the center under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration that promotes community-based substance abuse treatment and recovery services for individuals and families in the community and provides national leadership to improve access, reduce barriers, and promote high quality, effective treatment and recovery services. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Charges: means the economic value established for accounting purposes of the goods and services a hospital provides for all classes of purchasers. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Chronic pain: means pain that has persisted after reasonable medical efforts have been made to relieve the pain or cure its cause and that has continued, either continuously or episodically, for longer than three continuous months. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2
• City: is a word of art and shall mean, include, and be limited to any Class I, Class II, and Class III city, as classified in section three of this article (except in those instances where the context in which used clearly indicates that a particular class of city is intended), heretofore or hereafter incorporated as a municipal corporation under the laws of this state, however created and whether operating under: (i) A special legislative charter. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Commissioner: means the State Tax Commissioner. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of the bureau, who may be designated as the state health officer. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health, who is the state health officer. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Commissioner: means the Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health within the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• Community mental health and intellectual disability facility: means a facility which provides comprehensive services and continuity of care as emergency, outpatient, partial hospitalization, inpatient or consultation and education for individuals with mental illness, intellectual disability. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlled Substances Monitoring Program Database: means the database maintained by the West Virginia Board of Pharmacy pursuant to §. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Convicted: includes pleas of guilty and pleas of nolo contendere accepted by the court having jurisdiction of the criminal prosecution, a finding of guilty following a jury trial, or a trial to a court and an adjudicated juvenile offender as defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: means a corporation or joint-stock association, organized under the laws of this state, the United States or any other state, territory or foreign country or dependency including, but not limited to, banking institutions. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
• cost: includes the fair market value. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Council: means the Emergency Medical Service Advisory Council created pursuant to this article. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Council: means the Governor'. See West Virginia Code 16-5K-2
• County board of health: means one form of organization for a local board of health and means a local board of health serving a single county. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• County commission: shall mean the governmental body created by section 22, article eight of the Constitution of this state, or any existing tribunal created in lieu of a county commission. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Date of filing: means the date a vital record is accepted for registration by the section of vital statistics of the state Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Dead body: means a human body or parts of a human body or bones from the condition of which it reasonably may be concluded that death occurred. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Decision: means any determination, action, vote or final disposition of a motion, proposal, resolution, order or measure on which a vote of the governing body is required at any meeting at which a quorum is present. See West Virginia Code 16-5G-2
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Deficiency: means a nursing home's failure to meet the requirements specified in §. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Deficiency: means a statement of the rule and the fact that compliance has not been established and the reasons therefor. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Deficiency: means a statement of the rule and the fact that compliance has not been established and the reasons therefor. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• 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
• Department: means the State Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Department: means the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-4F-1
• Department: means the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Department: means the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Department: means the state Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Department: means the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5K-2
• Department: means the Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Deputy local registrar: means a person appointed by and working under the supervision of a local registrar in the discharge of the vital statistics functions specified to be performed in and for the county or other district of the local registrar. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Derelict aircraft: means any aircraft that is not in a flyable condition, does not have a current certificate of air worthiness issued by the federal aviation administration, and whose owner cannot produce satisfactory written documentation from a licensed third-party aircraft mechanic evidencing that they have been hired to actively and fully repair the aircraft to both an airworthy and properly registered condition within six calendar months from the date notice is given to the owner. See West Virginia Code 8-29-1
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Diagnostic imaging: means the use of radiology, ultrasound, and mammography. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Service in the Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Director: means the director of the office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification within the Office of the Inspector General. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Director: means the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification within the Office of the Inspector General. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2
• Director: means the director of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Director: means the Director of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• director of health: means the state health officer. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dispense: means the preparation and delivery of a medication-assisted treatment medication in an appropriately labeled and suitable container to a patient by a medication-assisted treatment program or pharmacist. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Distance learning technologies: means computer-centered technologies delivered over the internet, broadcasts, recordings, instructional videos, or videoconferencing. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Division: means the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification within the Office of the Inspector General of the state Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Division: means the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Donor: The person who makes a gift.
• Early intervention services: means developmental services which:

  (1) Are designed to meet the developmental needs of developmentally delayed infants and toddlers and the needs of the family related to enhancing the child'. See West Virginia Code 16-5K-2

• Election: shall mean the procedure whereby the voters of this state or any subdivision thereof elect persons to fill public offices, or elect members of a Constitutional convention, or vote on public questions. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• Emergency medical service agency: means any agency licensed under section six-a of this article to provide emergency medical services. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Emergency medical service personnel: means any person certified by the commissioner to provide emergency medical services as set forth by legislative rule. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Emergency medical service provider: means any authority, person, corporation, partnership or other entity, public or private, which owns or operates a licensed emergency medical services agency providing emergency medical service in this state. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Emergency Medical Services: means all services which are set forth in Public Law 93-154 "The Emergency Medical Services Systems Act of 1973" and those included in and made a part of the emergency medical services plan of the Department of Health and Human Resources inclusive of, but not limited to, responding to the medical needs of an individual to prevent the loss of life or aggravation of illness or injury. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Executive session: A portion of the Senate's daily session in which it considers executive business.
• Executive session: means any meeting or part of a meeting of the governing body of a hospital that is closed to the public. See West Virginia Code 16-5G-2
• Expedited partner therapy: means prescribing, dispensing, furnishing or otherwise providing prescription antibiotic drugs to the sexual partner or partners of a person clinically diagnosed as infected with a sexually transmitted disease without physical examination of the partner or partners. See West Virginia Code 16-4F-1
• Expenditure minimum: means the cost of acquisition, improvement, expansion of any facility, equipment, or services including the cost of any studies, surveys, designs, plans, working drawings, specifications and other activities, including staff effort and consulting at and above $ $100 million. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• facility: means any institution, residence or place, or any part or unit thereof, however named, in this state which is advertised, offered, maintained or operated by the ownership or management, whether for a consideration or not, for the express or implied purpose of providing accommodations and care, for a period of more than 24 hours, for four or more persons who are ill or otherwise incapacitated and in need of extensive, ongoing nursing care due to physical or mental impairment or which provides services for the rehabilitation of persons who are convalescing from illness or incapacitation. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
• family members: means parents, children, brothers and sisters whether by the whole or half blood, spouse, ancestors, and lineal descendants. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Fetal death: means death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy and which is not an induced termination of pregnancy, such death being indicated by the fact that after such expulsion or extraction the fetus does not breathe or show any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Filing: means the presentation and acceptance of a vital record or report provided in this article for registration by the section of vital statistics of the state Bureau for Public Health. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Final disposition: means the burial, interment, cremation, removal from the state, or other authorized disposition of a dead body or fetus. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Forbearance: A means of handling a delinquent loan. A
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Governing body: means the body that governs a municipality or county. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
• Governing body: means :

  (A) With respect to a hospital owned or operated by a nonprofit corporation, the board of directors  . See West Virginia Code 16-5G-2

• Governing body: means the person or persons identified as being legally responsible for the operation of the opioid treatment program. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Government agency: means any department, division, office, bureau, board, commission, council, authority, or any other agency or instrumentality created by the state or political subdivision thereof or to which the state is a party or by any county or municipality which is responsible for the regulation, visitation, inspection, or supervision of long-term care facilities or which provides services to residents or long-term care facilities. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Grace period: The number of days you'll have to pay your bill for purchases in full without triggering a finance charge. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Guardian: means a person lawfully invested with the power and charged with the duty of taking care of another person and managing the property and rights of another person who for some peculiarity of status or defect of age, understanding or self control is considered incapable of administering his or her own affairs, to include committees or other references under the code. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Health care facility: means a publicly or privately owned facility, agency or entity that offers or provides health services, whether a for-profit or nonprofit entity and whether or not licensed, or required to be licensed, in whole or in part. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Health care professional: means :

  (A) An allopathic physician licensed pursuant to article three, chapter . See West Virginia Code 16-4F-1

• Health care provider: means a person authorized by law to provide professional health services in this state to an individual. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• 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 16-3C-1
• Health facility: means a hospital, nursing home, physician&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Health Information Exchange: means the electronic movement of health-related information in accord with law and nationally recognized standards. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Health services: means clinically related preventive, diagnostic, treatment or rehabilitative services. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• High risk behavior: means behavior by a person including, but not limited to: (i) Unprotected sex with a person who is living with HIV. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• HIV: means the human immunodeficiency virus identified as the causative agent of AIDS. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• HIV-related test: means a test for the HIV antibody or antigen or any future valid test approved by the bureau, the federal drug administration, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Home health agency: means an organization primarily engaged in providing professional nursing services either directly or through contract arrangements and at least one of the following services:

  (A) Home health aide services. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2

• Hospice: means a coordinated program of home and inpatient care provided directly or through an agreement under the direction of a licensed hospice program which provides palliative and supportive medical and other health services to terminally ill individuals and their families. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Hospice: means a coordinated program of home and inpatient care provided directly or through an agreement under the direction of an identifiable hospice administration which provides palliative and supportive medical and other health services to terminally ill individuals and their families. See West Virginia Code 16-5I-2
• Hospital: means a facility licensed pursuant to the provisions of §. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Hospital: means any hospital owned or operated by a nonprofit corporation, nonprofit association or local governmental unit. See West Virginia Code 16-5G-2
• Household: means a private home or residence which is separate from or unattached to a nursing home. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Immediate jeopardy: means a situation in which the nursing home's noncompliance with one or more of the provisions of this article or rules promulgated thereunder has caused or is likely to cause serious harm, impairment or death to a resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• in writing: includes any representation of words, letters, or figures, whether by printing, engraving, writing, or otherwise. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Induced termination of pregnancy: means the purposeful interruption of an intrauterine pregnancy with the intention other than to produce a live-born infant, and which does not result in live birth. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Inhabitant: shall mean any individual who is a resident within the corporate limits of a municipality or within the boundaries of a territory referred to in this chapter, as the case may be. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Inpatient: means a patient whose medical condition, safety, or health would be significantly threatened if his or her care was provided in a less intense setting than a hospital. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Institution: means any establishment, public or private, which provides inpatient or outpatient medical, surgical, or diagnostic care or treatment, or nursing, custodial or domiciliary care to two or more unrelated individuals or to which persons are committed by law. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Interdisciplinary team: means the hospice patient and the patient'. See West Virginia Code 16-5I-2
• Intermediate care facility: means an institution that provides health-related services to individuals with conditions that require services above the level of room and board, but do not require the degree of services provided in a hospital or skilled-nursing facility. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Judgement: The official decision of a court finally determining the respective rights and claims of the parties to a suit.
• Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Land development: means the development of one or more lots, tracts or parcels of land by any means and for any purpose, but does not include easements, rights-of-way or construction of private roads for extraction, harvesting or transporting of natural resources. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
• Laws of the state: includes the Constitution of the State of West Virginia and the Constitution of the United States, and treaties and laws made in pursuance thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensed health professional: means an individual who is licensed by the State of West Virginia to practice a health profession. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Licensed medical professional: means a person licensed under Chapter 30 of this code practicing within his or her scope of practice. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Like equipment: means medical equipment in which functional and technological capabilities are similar to the equipment being replaced. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Limited and intermittent nursing care: means direct hands-on nursing care of an individual who needs no more than two hours of nursing care per day for a period of time no longer than 90 consecutive days per episode: Provided, That such time limitations shall not apply to an individual who, after having established a residence in an assisted living residence, subsequently qualifies for and receives services coordinated by a licensed hospice and such time limitations shall not apply to home health services provided by a Medicare-certified home health agency. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Limited and intermittent nursing care: means direct hands on nursing care of an individual who needs no more than two hours of nursing care per day for a period of no longer than ninety consecutive days per episode, which may only be provided when the need for such care meets the following factors: (1) The resident requests to remain in the home. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Limited and intermittent nursing care: means direct hands-on nursing care of a resident who needs no more than two hours of nursing care per day for a period of time no longer than ninety consecutive days per episode, which care may be provided only when the need for it meets these requirements: The resident requests that he or she remain in the residential care community. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Line officer: means the emergency medical service personnel, present at the scene of an accident, injury or illness, who has taken the responsibility for patient care. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Live birth: means the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which, after such expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord or definite movement of voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Local health department: means the staff of the local board of health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Local health department: means the staff of the local board of health. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
• Local health officer: has the meaning ascribed in §. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Local health officer: means the individual physician with a current West Virginia license to practice medicine who supervises and directs the activities of the local health department services, staff and facilities and is appointed by the local board of health with approval by the commissioner. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
• Local registrar: means the person appointed by the state Registrar of Vital Statistics for a county or other district to perform the vital statistics functions specified to be performed in and for the county or other district. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Long-term care facility: means any nursing home, personal care home, or residential board and care home as defined in section two, article five-c of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Major medical equipment: means a single unit of medical equipment or a single system of components with related functions which is used for the provision of medical and other health services and costs in excess of the expenditure minimum. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Mayor: shall mean the individual called mayor unless as to a particular municipality a commissioner (in a commission form of government) or the city manager (in a manager form of government) is designated or constituted by charter provision as the principal or chief executive officer or chief administrator thereof, in which event the term "mayor" shall mean as to such municipality such commissioner or city manager unless as to any particular power, authority, duty or function specified in this chapter to be exercised, discharged or fulfilled by the mayor it is provided by charter provision or ordinance that such particular power, authority, duty, or function shall be exercised, discharged, or fulfilled by the individual called mayor and not by a commissioner or city manager, in which event such particular power, authority, duty, or function shall in fact be exercised, discharged, or fulfilled in and for such municipality by the individual called mayor: Provided, That in the exercise and discharge of the ex officio justice of the peace, conservator of the peace, and mayor's court functions specified in this chapter, the term "mayor" shall always mean the individual called mayor. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Medical command: means the issuing of orders by a physician from a medical facility to emergency medical service personnel for the purpose of providing appropriate patient care. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Medical director: means a physician licensed within the State of West Virginia who assumes responsibility for administering all medical services performed by the medication-assisted treatment program, either by performing them directly or by delegating specific responsibility to authorized program physicians and health care professionals functioning under the medical director&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Medical emergency: means the same as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2F-2
• Medical emergency: means the same as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Medical or emergency responders: means paid or volunteer firefighters, law-enforcement officers, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, or other emergency service personnel, providers, or entities acting within the usual course of their duties. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Medically underserved population: means the population of an area designated by the authority as having a shortage of a specific health service. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Medication-assisted treatment: means the use of medications and drug screens, in combination with counseling and behavioral therapies, to provide a holistic approach to the treatment of substance use disorders. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Medication-assisted treatment medication: means any medication that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Medication-assisted treatment program: means all publicly and privately owned opioid treatment programs and office-based, medication-assisted treatment programs, which prescribe medication-assisted treatment medications and treat substance use disorders, as those terms are defined in this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Meeting: means the convening of  . See West Virginia Code 16-5G-2
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Municipality: has the meaning ascribed to it in subdivision (1), subsection (a), section two, article one, chapter . See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
• Nonmedically viable fetus: means the same as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2Q-1
• Nursing care: means those procedures commonly employed in providing for the physical, emotional and rehabilitation needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated which require technical skills and knowledge beyond that which the untrained person possesses, including, but not limited to, such procedures as: Irrigations, catheterization, special procedure contributing to rehabilitation, and administration of medication by any method which involves a level of complexity and skill in administration not possessed by the untrained person. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Nursing care: means those procedures commonly employed in providing for the physical, emotional, and rehabilitational needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated which require technical skills and knowledge beyond that which the untrained person possesses, including, but not limited to, such procedures as: Irrigations, catheterization, special procedures contributing to rehabilitation, and administration of medication by any method which involves a level of complexity and skill in administration not possessed by the untrained person. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Nursing care: means those procedures commonly employed in providing for the physical, emotional and rehabilitational needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated which require technical skills and knowledge beyond that which the untrained person possesses, including, but not limited to, such procedures as: Irrigations. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Nursing care: means those procedures commonly employed in providing for the physical, emotional and rehabilitation needs of the ill or otherwise incapacitated and which require technical skills and knowledge beyond those that untrained persons possess, including, irrigations, catheterizations, special procedures that contribute to rehabilitation and administration of medication by any method involving a level of complexity and skill not possessed by untrained persons. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• oath: shall be deemed to include an affirmation and the word "swear" or "sworn" to be complied with if the person referred to make solemn affirmation. See West Virginia Code 2-2-7
• Offense: includes every act or omission for which a fine, forfeiture, or punishment is imposed by law. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Offer: means the health care facility holds itself out as capable of providing, or as having the means to provide, specified health services. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Office: shall be construed to mean "public office" which shall include (1) any elective office provided for by the Constitution or laws of the United States or of this state to which a salary or other compensation attaches, and (2) membership in a Constitutional convention. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• ombudsman volunteer: means any uncompensated individual who performs the duties enumerated under section eight of this article: Provided, That the individual has received appropriate certification as set forth in section nine of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Opioid agonist: means substances that bind to and activate the opiate receptors resulting in analgesia and pain regulation, respiratory depression, and a wide variety of behavioral changes. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Opioid treatment program: means as that term is defined in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Opioid treatment program: means all publicly- or privately-owned medication-assisted treatment programs in clinics, facilities, offices, or programs that provide medication-assisted treatment to individuals with substance use disorders through . See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Owner: means any person, partnership, association, or corporation listed as the owner of a pain management clinic on the licensing forms required by this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2
• Owner: means any person, partnership, association, or corporation listed as the owner of a medication-assisted treatment program on the licensing or registration forms required by this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Pain management clinic: means all privately-owned pain management clinics, facilities, or offices not otherwise exempted from this article and which meet both of the following criteria:

  (1) Where in any month more than 50 percent of patients of the clinic are prescribed or dispensed Schedule II opioids or other Schedule II controlled substances specified in rules promulgated pursuant to this article for chronic pain resulting from conditions that are not terminal. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2

• Partial opioid agonist: means a Federal Drug Administration approved medication that is used as an alternative to opioid agonists for the treatment of substance use disorders and that binds to and activates opiate receptors, but not to the same degree as full agonists. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-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.
• Patient: means any person who is a recipient of the services provided by emergency medical services. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Pecuniary interest: means holding a financial interest in or deriving financial benefit from the provision of long-term care, but does not include employment in the long-term care industry or in the home health care industry. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Permitted purpose: is a disclosure permitted by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 as amended, or a disclosure consented to or authorized by a patient or test subject. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Person: means an individual, trust, estate, partnership, limited liability corporation, committee, corporation, governing body, association and other organizations such as joint-stock companies and insurance companies, a state or a political subdivision or instrumentality thereof or any legal entity recognized by the state. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Person: includes any natural person, partnership, association, joint venture, trust, public or private corporation, or health facility. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Person: means an individual and every form of organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, including any partnership, corporation, trust, association, or political subdivision of the state. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Person: means an individual and every form of organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, including any partnership, corporation, trust, association, or political subdivision of the state. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Person: means a natural person and every form of organization, whether incorporated or unincorporated, including partnerships, corporations, trusts, associations and political subdivisions of the state. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Personal assistance: means personal services, including, but not limited to, the following: Help in walking, bathing, dressing, feeding, or getting in or out of bed, or supervision required because of the age or mental impairment of the resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Personal assistance: means personal services, including, but not limited to, the following: Help in walking, bathing, dressing, feeding or getting in or out of bed, or supervision required because of the age or physical or mental impairment of the resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Personal assistance: means personal services, including, but not limited to, the following: Help in walking, bathing, dressing, feeding or getting in or out of bed, or supervision required because of the age or mental impairment of the resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Personal assistance: means services of a personal nature, including help in walking, bathing, dressing, toileting, getting in or out of bed and supervision that is required because of the age or mental impairment of a resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Personal care agency: means an entity that provides personal care services approved by the Bureau of Medical Services. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Personal care services: means personal hygiene. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• personal property: includes goods, chattels, real and personal, money, credits, investments, and the evidences thereof. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Physician: means an individual who is licensed to practice allopathic medicine by the Board of Medicine or licensed to practice osteopathic medicine by the Board of Osteopathic Medicine. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy pursuant to the laws of this state. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Physician: means an individual authorized to practice medicine or surgery or osteopathic medicine or surgery in this state. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2
• Physician: means an individual licensed in this state to practice allopathic medicine or surgery by the West Virginia Board of Medicine or osteopathic medicine or surgery by the West Virginia Board of Osteopathic Medicine and that meets the requirements of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Plan: means a written description for the development of land. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
• Planning commission: means a municipal planning commission, a county planning commission, a multicounty planning commission, a regional planning commission or a joint planning commission. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
• Plat: means a map of the land development that becomes its official recorded representation in the office of the clerk of the county commission where a majority of the land to be developed lies. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• 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}
• Prescriber: means an individual who is authorized by law to prescribe drugs or drug therapy related devices in the course of the individual&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2
• Prescriber: means a person authorized in this state, working within their scope of practice, to give direction, either orally or in writing, for the preparation and administration of a remedy to be used in the treatment of substance use disorders. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Program sponsor: means the person named in the application for the certification and licensure of an opioid treatment program who is responsible for the administrative operation of the opioid treatment program and who assumes responsibility for all of its employees, including any practitioners, agents, or other persons providing medical, rehabilitative, or counseling services at the program. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Proposed health service: means any service as described in §. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Quorum: means , unless otherwise defined by applicable law, a simple majority of the constituent membership of the governing body. See West Virginia Code 16-5G-2
• Recorder: shall mean the recorder, clerk, or other municipal officer, by whatever name called, charged with the responsibility of keeping the journal of the proceedings of the governing body of the municipality and other municipal records. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Records: means accounts, books and other data related to health service costs at health care facilities subject to the provisions of this article which do not include privileged medical information, individual personal data, confidential information, the disclosure of which is prohibited by other provisions of this code and the laws enacted by the federal government, and information, the disclosure of which would be an invasion of privacy. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Regional long-term care ombudsman: means any paid staff of a designated regional long-term care ombudsman program who has obtained appropriate certification from the state commission on aging and meets the qualifications set forth in section seven of this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Registration: means the process by which vital records are completed, filed and incorporated into the official records of the section of vital statistics. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Related organization: means an organization, whether publicly owned, nonprofit, tax-exempt or for profit, related to a health care facility through common membership, governing bodies, trustees, officers, stock ownership, family members, partners or limited partners, including, but not limited to, subsidiaries, foundations, related corporations and joint ventures. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Release of test results: means a permitted or authorized disclosure of HIV-related test results. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Remand: When an appellate court sends a case back to a lower court for further proceedings.
• Research: means a systematic investigation designed primarily to develop or contribute to general knowledge. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Resident: means an individual living in a nursing home. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Resident: means an individual living in an assisted living residence for the purpose of receiving personal assistance or limited and intermittent nursing services. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Resident: means an individual who is provided services, whether or not for a fee, by a service provider, but resident does not include a person receiving services provided by another who is related to him or her or the spouse thereof by blood or marriage, within the degree of consanguinity of the second cousin. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Resident: means an individual living in a nursing home, personal care home, residential board and care home, or any long-term care facility as defined in subsection (b) of this section, or who has lived in such a setting, or who has made application to live in such a setting: Provided, That nothing in this article may be construed to give a long-term care ombudsman the right to obtain the waiting list of a long-term care facility. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• Resident: means an individual who lives in a residential care community for the purpose of receiving personal assistance or limited and intermittent nursing services from the community. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Residential care community: means any group of seventeen or more residential apartments, however named, which are part of a larger independent living community and which are advertised, offered, maintained or operated by an owner or manager, regardless of consideration or the absence thereof, for the express or implied purpose of providing residential accommodations, personal assistance and supervision on a monthly basis to seventeen or more persons who are or may be dependent upon the services of others by reason of physical or mental impairment or who may require limited and intermittent nursing care but who are capable of self-preservation and are not bedfast. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Review organization: means any committee or organization engaging in peer review or quality assurance, including, but not limited to, a medical audit committee, a health insurance review committee, a professional health service plan review committee or organization, a dental review committee, a physician's advisory committee, a podiatry advisory committee, a nursing advisory committee, any committee or organization established pursuant to a medical assistance program, any committee or organization established or required under state or federal statutes, rules or regulations, and any committee established by one or more state or local professional societies or institutes, to gather and review information relating to the care and treatment of residents for the purposes of:

  Evaluating and improving the quality of health care rendered. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2

• 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
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-2F-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Secretary: means the secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5H-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources. See West Virginia Code 16-5I-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• Secretary: means the Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources or his or her designee. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Self-preservation: means that a person is at least capable of removing him or her self from situations involving imminent danger, such as fire. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Service area: means the territorial jurisdiction of a local board of health. See West Virginia Code 16-1-2
• Service of process: The service of writs or summonses to the appropriate party.
• Service provider: means the individual administratively responsible for providing to consumers for a period of more than twenty-four hours, whether for compensation or not, services of personal assistance for one to three residents and who may require limited and intermittent nursing care, including those individuals who qualify for and are receiving services coordinated by a licensed hospice: Provided, That services utilizing equipment which requires auxiliary electrical power in the event of a power failure may not be used unless the home has a backup power generator. See West Virginia Code 16-5E-2
• Service reciprocity: means the provision of emergency medical services to citizens of this state by emergency medical service personnel certified to render those services by a neighboring state. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Sexually transmitted disease: means a disease that may be treated by expedited partner therapy as determined by rule of the department. See West Virginia Code 16-4F-1
• Significant exposure: means :

  (1) Exposure to blood or body fluids through needlestick, instruments, sharps, surgery, or traumatic events. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1

• Skilled nursing facility: means an institution, or a distinct part of an institution, that primarily provides inpatient skilled nursing care and related services, or rehabilitation services, to injured, disabled or sick persons. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Source patient: means any person whose body fluids have been the source of a significant exposure to a medical or emergency responder. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Specialized multipatient medical transport: means a type of ambulance transport provided for patients with medical needs greater than those of the average population, which may require the presence of a trained emergency medical technician during the transport of the patient: Provided, That the requirement of "greater medical need" may not prohibit the transportation of a patient whose need is preventive in nature. See West Virginia Code 16-4C-3
• Sponsor: means the person or agency legally responsible for the welfare and support of a resident. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• State health plan: means a document prepared by the authority that sets forth a strategy for future health service needs in this state. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• State long-term care ombudsman: means an individual who meets the qualifications of section five of this article and who is employed by the state commission on aging to implement the state long-term care ombudsman program as set forth in this article. See West Virginia Code 16-5L-3
• State opioid treatment authority: means the agency or individual designated by the Governor to exercise the responsibility and authority of the state for governing the treatment of substance use disorders, including, but not limited to, the treatment of opiate addiction with opioid drugs. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• State oversight agency: means the agency or office of state government identified by the secretary to provide regulatory oversight of medication-assisted treatment programs on behalf of the State of West Virginia. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Streets: means streets, avenues, boulevards, highways, roads, lanes, alleys and all public ways. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2
• subject of the test: means the person upon whom an HIV test is performed, or the person who has legal authority to make health care decisions for the test subject. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Subpoena duces tecum: A command to a witness to produce documents.
• Substance: means the following:

  (1) Alcohol. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: means the agency under the United States Department of Health and Human Services responsible for the accreditation and certification of medication-assisted treatment programs and that provides leadership, resources, programs, policies, information, data, contracts, and grants for the purpose of reducing the impact of substance abuse and mental or behavioral illness. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Substance use disorder: means patterns of symptoms resulting from use of a substance that the individual continues to take, despite experiencing problems as a result. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Substantial change to the health services: means :

  (A) The addition of a health service offered by or on behalf of the health care facility which was not offered by or on behalf of the facility within the 12-month period before the month in which the service was first offered. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2

• Substantial compliance: means a level of compliance with the rules such that no deficiencies exist or such that identified deficiencies pose no greater risk to resident health or safety than the potential for causing minimal harm. See West Virginia Code 16-5C-2
• Substantial compliance: means a level of compliance with the rules such that identified deficiencies pose no greater risk to resident health or safety than the potential for causing minimal harm. See West Virginia Code 16-5D-2
• Substantial compliance: means a level of compliance with the rules promulgated hereunder that identified deficiencies pose a risk to resident health or safety no greater than a potential for causing minimal harm. See West Virginia Code 16-5N-2
• System of vital statistics: means the registration, collection, preservation, amendment, certification of vital records, the collection of other reports required by this article, and related activities, including, but not limited to, the tabulation, analysis, publication and dissemination of vital statistics. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Targeted testing: means performing an HIV-related test for sub-populations at higher risk, typically defined on the basis of behavior, clinical, or demographic characteristics. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Tax year: means the calendar year following the July first assessment day or, in the case of a public service business assessed pursuant to article six of this chapter, the calendar year beginning on the January first assessment day. See West Virginia Code 11-5-3
• Telehealth: means the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Telehealth: means the mode of delivering health care services and public health via information and communication technologies to facilitate the diagnosis, consultation, treatment education, care management, and self-management of a patient&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Terminally ill: means that an individual has a medical prognosis that his or her life expectancy is six months or less or another length of time determined by the centers for Medicare and Medicaid services and designated in federal hospice regulations. See West Virginia Code 16-5I-2
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• To develop: means to undertake those activities which upon their completion will result in the offer of a proposed health service or the incurring of a financial obligation in relation to the offering of such a service. See West Virginia Code 16-2D-2
• Town: includes a city, village or town, and the word "council" any body or board, whether composed of one or more branches, which is authorized to make ordinances for the government of a city, town, or village. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Town or village: is a term of art and shall, notwithstanding the provisions of §. See West Virginia Code 8-1-2
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Tuberculosis: means a communicable disease caused by the bacteria, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is demonstrated by clinical, bacteriological, radiographic or epidemiological evidence. See West Virginia Code 16-3D-2
• Unemancipated minor: means any person less than 18 years of age who is not, or has not been, married, who is under the care, custody, and control of the person&rsquo. See West Virginia Code 16-2F-2
• Uniform Commercial Code: A set of statutes enacted by the various states to provide consistency among the states' commercial laws. It includes negotiable instruments, sales, stock transfers, trust and warehouse receipts, and bills of lading. ^{Source: OCC}
• Value: means in the case of any document not a gift, the amount of the full actual consideration for the document, paid or to be paid, including the amount of any lien or liens assumed. See West Virginia Code 11-22-1
• Variance: means written permission granted by the secretary to a medication-assisted treatment program that a requirement of this article or rules promulgated pursuant to this article may be accomplished in a manner different from the manner set forth in this article or associated rules. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Victim: means the person or persons to whom transmission of bodily fluids from the perpetrator of the crimes of sexual abuse, sexual assault, incest, or sexual molestation occurred or was likely to have occurred in the commission of such crimes. See West Virginia Code 16-3C-1
• Vital records: means certificates or reports and data related to birth, death, and marriage, including divorce, dissolution of marriage, and annulment. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Vital statistics: means the data derived from certificates and reports of birth, death, fetal death, marriage, divorce, annulment and related records and reports. See West Virginia Code 16-5-1
• Voter: shall mean any person who possesses the statutory and Constitutional qualifications for voting. See West Virginia Code 3-1-2
• Waiver: means a formal, time-limited agreement between the designated oversight agency and the medication-assisted treatment program that suspends a rule, policy, or standard for a specific situation so long as the health and safety of patients is better served in the situation by suspension of the rule, policy, or standard than by enforcement. See West Virginia Code 16-5Y-2
• whoever: includes corporations, societies, associations and partnerships, and other similar legal business organizations. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.
• Writ of certiorari: An order issued by the Supreme Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a case for which it will hear on appeal.
• Zoning: means the division of a municipality or county into districts or zones which specify permitted and conditional uses and development standards for real property within the districts or zones. See West Virginia Code 8A-1-2