Title 18, Title 18: Health

§ 1782. Environmentally preferable cleaning products (a) A distributor or manufacturer of cleaning products shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute to a school, school district, supervisory union, or procurement consortium only: (1) environmentally preferable cleaning products …

§ 1783. Environmentally preferable air fresheners (a) A distributor or manufacturer shall sell, offer for sale, or distribute air fresheners to a school, school district, supervisory union, or procurement consortium only if the air fresheners are certified as environmentally pref…

§ 1784. Penalty exemption Nothing in this chapter shall cause a person to be subject to the fine established in section 7 of this title. (Added 2011, No. 68 (Adj. Sess.), § 1a.)

§ 1791. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Place of public accommodation” has the same meaning as in 9 V.S.A. § 4501. (2) “Public building” has the same meaning as in 20 V.S.A. § 2730. (3) “Single-user toilet facility” means a single-occupancy restroom with at least one wa…

§ 1792. Single-user restrooms (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any single-user toilet facility in a public building or place of public accommodation shall be made available for use by persons of any gender and designated for use by not more than one occupant at a t…

§ 1793. Application of plumbing rules (a) Notwithstanding the requirements of any plumbing code adopted by the Plumber’s Examining Board under 26 V.S.A. § 2173(a), a toilet facility may be designated for use by persons of any gender. No separate male or female facility is require…

§ 1801. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) [Repealed.] (2) “The federal act” means Title VI of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.) as now and hereafter amended. (3) “Hospital” includes public health centers and general, tuberculosis, mental, chronic dise…

§ 1802. Powers of Commissioner of Health The Department shall constitute the sole agency of the State for the purpose of: (1) making an inventory of existing hospitals and medical facilities, surveying the need for construction of hospitals and medical facilities, and developing …

§ 1803. General powers and duties of Commissioner of Health In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the Commissioner is authorized and directed: (1) to require such reports, make such inspections and investigations, and adopt such rules as it deems necessary; (2) to provide…

§ 1805. Survey and planning activities The Commissioner is authorized and directed to make an inventory of existing hospitals and medical facilities, including public, nonprofit, and proprietary hospitals and medical facilities; to survey the need for construction of hospitals an…

§ 1806. Construction program The construction program shall provide, in accordance with the regulations prescribed under the federal act, for adequate hospital and medical facilities for the people residing in this State and, insofar as possible, shall provide for their distribut…

§ 1807. Application for federal funds for survey and planning; expenditure The Commissioner is authorized to make application to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for federal funds to assist in carrying out the survey and planning activities provided in this chapter. Suc…

§ 1808. State plan The Commissioner shall prepare and submit to the Secretary of Health and Human Services a State plan that shall include the hospital and medical facilities construction program developed under sections 1805–1807 of this title and that shall provide for the esta…

§ 1809. Minimum standards for hospital and medical facilities maintenance and operation The Department shall, by rule, prescribe minimum standards for the maintenance and operation of hospitals and medical facilities that receive federal aid for construction under the State plan.…

§ 1810. Priority of projects The State plan shall set forth the relative need for the several projects included in the construction program determined in accordance with regulations prescribed pursuant to the federal act, and provide for the construction, insofar as financial res…

§ 1811. Construction projects; applications Applications for hospital and medical facilities construction projects for which federal funds are requested shall be submitted to the Commissioner and may be submitted by the State or any political subdivision thereof or by any public …

§ 1812. Consideration and forwarding of applications The Commissioner shall afford to every applicant for a construction project an opportunity for a fair hearing. If the Commissioner, after affording a reasonable opportunity for development and presentation of applications in th…

§ 1813. Inspection of projects From time to time, the Department shall inspect each construction project approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and, if the inspection so warrants, the Commissioner shall certify to the Secretary of Health and Human Services that w…

§ 1814. Hospital and Medical Facilities Construction Fund The Department is hereby authorized to receive federal funds in behalf of, and transmit them to, such applicants. There is hereby established, separate and apart from all public monies and funds of this State, the Hospital…

§ 1851. Definitions As used in this subchapter: (1) “Hospital” means a hospital required to be licensed under chapter 43 of this title. (2) “Patient” means a person admitted to a hospital on an inpatient basis. (Added 1985, No. 163 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2019, No. 53, § 1.)…

§ 1852. Patients’ bill of rights; adoption (a) The General Assembly hereby adopts the “Bill of Rights for Hospital Patients” as follows: (1) The patient has the right to considerate and respectful care at all times and under all circumstances with recognition of his or her person…

§ 1854. Public access to information (a) A hospital shall make public the maximum patient census and the number of registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and licensed nursing assistants providing direct patient care in each unit during each shift. Each unit’s information s…

§ 1855. Ambulatory surgical patients; explanation of charges (a) As used in this section: (1) “Ambulatory surgical center” has the same meaning as in section 9432 of this title. (2) “Hospital” means a hospital required to be licensed under chapter 43 of this title. (b) A patient …

§ 1871. Patient’s bill of rights for palliative care and pain management (a) A patient has the right to be informed of all evidence-based options for care and treatment, including palliative care, in order to make a fully informed patient choice. (b) A patient with a terminal ill…

§ 1881. Disclosure of protected health information prohibited (a) As used in this section: (1) “Business associate” has the same meaning as in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103. (2) “Covered entity” has the same meaning as in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103. (3) “Legally protected health care activity” ha…

§ 1882. Disclosures of protected health information to avert a serious risk of danger (a) It is the intent of the General Assembly in this section to negate the Vermont Supreme Court’s decision in Kuligoski v. Brattleboro Retreat and Northeast Kingdom Human Services, 2016 VT 54A,…

§ 1883. Disclosure of protected health information required (a) When a law enforcement officer responds to an alleged crime committed by a patient at a hospital: (1) an authorized representative of the hospital shall disclose to the law enforcement officer the following informati…

§ 1901. Policy The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the development, establishment, and enforcement of standards for the construction, maintenance, and operation of hospitals, which, in the light of advancing knowledge, will promote safe and adequate treatment of persons…

§ 1902. Definitions The following words and phrases, as used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings unless otherwise provided: (1) “Hospital” means a place devoted primarily to the maintenance and operation of diagnostic and therapeutic facilities for in-patient medic…

§ 1903. License No person or governmental unit may establish, conduct, or maintain a hospital in this State without first obtaining a license in accordance with this chapter. (Amended 1963, No. 154, § 3; 2017, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 66.)

§ 1904. Application, fee (a) An application for a license shall be made to the licensing agency upon forms provided by it and shall contain such information as the licensing agency reasonably requires. Each application for license shall be accompanied by a license fee. (b) Annual…

§ 1905. License requirements Upon receipt of an application for a license and the license fee, the licensing agency shall issue a license when it determines that the applicant and hospital facilities meet the following minimum standards: (1) All hospitals receiving federal aid in…

§ 1906. Revocation of license; hearing The licensing agency, after notice and opportunity for hearing to the applicant or licensee, is authorized to deny, suspend, or revoke a license in any case in which it finds that there has been a substantial failure to comply with the requi…

§ 1907. Appeal Any applicant or licensee, or the State acting through the Attorney General, aggrieved by the decision of the licensing agency after a hearing, may, within 30 days after entry of the decision as provided in section 1906 of this title, appeal to the Superior Court w…

§ 1908. Rules; exceptions (a) The licensing agency shall adopt and enforce rules and standards with respect to the different types of hospitals to be licensed under this chapter as may be designed to further the accomplishment of the purposes set forth in this chapter; such rules…

§ 1909. Inspections The licensing agency shall make or cause to be made such inspections and investigations as it deems necessary. If the licensing agency finds a violation as the result of an inspection or investigation, the licensing agency shall post a report on the licensing …

§ 1910. Records (a) Information received by the licensing agency through filed reports, inspection, or as otherwise authorized by law shall: (1) not be disclosed publicly in a manner that identifies or may lead to the identification of one or more individuals or hospitals; (2) be…

§ 1911. Construction This chapter shall not be construed in any way to restrict or modify any law pertaining to the placement and adoption of children or the care of unmarried mothers.

§ 1911a. Notice of hospital observation status (a)(1) Each hospital shall provide oral and written notice to each Medicare beneficiary that the hospital places in observation status as soon as possible but not later than 24 hours following such placement, unless the individual is…

§ 1911b. Workplace violence prevention planning (a)(1) A hospital licensed pursuant to this chapter shall establish and implement a security plan for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behaviors. Each hospital shall establish a team for the purpose of providing…

§ 1912. Definitions As used in this chapter: (1) “Adverse event” is any untoward incident, therapeutic misadventure, iatrogenic injury, or other undesirable occurrence directly associated with care or services provided by a health care provider or health care facility. (2) “Causa…

§ 1913. Creation; implementation (a) The Commissioner shall establish a comprehensive patient safety surveillance and improvement system for the purpose of improving patient safety, eliminating adverse events in Vermont hospitals, and supporting and facilitating quality improveme…

§ 1914. Rulemaking (a) The Commissioner shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 establishing the hospital obligations listed in section 1915 of this title and otherwise necessary for the implementation of the safety system. (b) The rules shall list reportable adverse ev…

§ 1915. Hospital obligations The rules adopted pursuant to this chapter shall require hospitals to: (1) develop, maintain, and implement internal policies and procedures that meet the standards of the Department to: (A) identify, track, and analyze reportable adverse events, adve…

§ 1916. Intentional unsafe acts (a) A hospital shall notify the Department, within the time frames established by regulation, if the information available supports a reasonable, good faith belief that an intentional unsafe act as it pertains to patients has occurred. (b) For inte…

§ 1917. Protection and disclosure of information (a) All information made available to the Department and its designees under this chapter shall be confidential and privileged, exempt from the public access to records law, and, in any civil or administrative action against a prov…