26:2H-12.111 Definitions.
1. As used in this act: “Community access location” shall mean a facility that includes the following components and provides the following services to all patients without regard to their ability to pay: forty-eight medical surgical/observation beds with at least twelve acuity adaptable beds capable of providing intensive care; a full-service emergency department that complies with 42 U.S.C. 1395dd; inpatient and outpatient psychiatric services; surgical services with general anesthesia that can support more than twenty-four hours of recovery in a surgery center/surgical outpatient department with up to six operating rooms; outpatient clinics; and comprehensive diagnostic imaging services. “Hospital” shall mean a general acute care hospital licensed pursuant to P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.). “Underserved community” means a municipality with a population greater than 30,000 residents in calendar year 2024, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, which has only one hospital within the municipality, and which: is within a Medically Underserved Area or includes a Medically Underserved Population, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration in the United States Department of Health and Human Services in 2025; has an Index of Medical Underservice Score, as designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration, that is less than, or equal to, 62.0 in 2025; and has been identified as a medically underserved municipality by the Commissioner of Health based on the New Jersey Medically Underserved Index. L.2025, c.402, s.1.