GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2001
H	1
HOUSE BILL 1001
     

 
Short Title:	Hospital Licensure/Critical Access Hospital.	()	
Sponsors:	Representative Wright.	
Referred to:	Health.	
April 9, 2001

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO AMEND THE DEFINITION OF A PRIMARY CARE HOSPITAL TO REFLECT FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 131E‑76 reads as rewritten:
"§ 131E‑76.  Definitions.
As used in this article, unless otherwise specified:
(1)	'Commission' means the North Carolina Medical Care Commission.
(2)	'Governing body' means the Board of Trustees, Board of Directors, partnership, corporation, association, person or group of persons who maintain and control the hospital. The governing body may or may not be the owner of the properties in which the hospital services are provided.
(3)	'Hospital' means any facility which has an organized medical staff and which is designed, used, and operated to provide health care, diagnostic and therapeutic services, and continuous nursing care primarily to inpatients where such care and services are rendered under the supervision and direction of physicians licensed under Chapter 90 of the General Statutes, Article 1, to two or more persons over a period in excess of 24 hours. The term includes facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders within the scope of specific health specialties. The term does not include private mental facilities licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes, nursing homes licensed under G.S. 131E‑102, and adult care homes licensed under G.S. 131D‑2.
(4)	'Infirmary' means a unit of a school, or similar educational institution, which has the primary purpose to provide limited short‑term health and nursing services to its students.
(5)	'Medical review committee' means a committee of a State or local professional society, of a medical staff of a licensed hospital or a committee of a peer review corporation or organization which is formed for the purpose of evaluating the quality, cost of, or necessity for hospitalization or health care, including medical staff credentialing.
(6)	 'Critical access hospital' means a hospital which has been designated as a critical access hospital by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health and Resource Development. To be designated as a critical access hospital under this subdivision, the hospital must meet the requirements of federal law for certification as a critical access hospital.   A hospital designated as a critical access hospital shall, at a minimum, offer primary outpatient services and ensure the availability of 24-hour emergency care. A critical access hospital must be part of a rural hospital network.
(7)	'Rural hospital network' means an alliance of members that shall include at least one critical access hospital and one other hospital. To qualify as a rural hospital network, the critical access hospital must submit a comprehensive, written memorandum of understanding to the Department of Health and Human Services for the Department's approval. The memorandum of understanding must include provisions for patient referral and transfer, a plan for network‑wide emergency services, and a plan for sharing patient information and services between hospital members including medical staff credentialing, risk management, quality assurance, and peer review."
SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.