Title 19 — Health
55 chapters · 745 sections in this title.
19 V.I.C. § 277 Ability to pay
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(a) No resident of the Virgin Islands shall be denied medical care because of financial inability to pay the cost thereof. (b) Subject to approval by the Governor, the Commissioner with the advice of the Commissioner of Human Services shall establish reasonable standards for dete…
19 V.I.C. § 278 Medical care for needy; Federal aid
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(1) The Department of Human Services, in addition to its other powers and duties shall establish and administer a program of medical care to individuals and families whose income and resources are insufficient to meet the cost of the necessary medical care. Under such a program, …
19 V.I.C. § 279 Rules and regulations
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In addition to the regulations authorized elsewhere in this chapter and subject to approval by the Governor, the V.I. Government Hospitals and Health Facilities Corporation shall adopt and from time to time amend, all such other reasonable rules and regulations, consistent with t…
19 V.I.C. § 280 Donations, gifts and bequests
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The Hospital Administrator or Medical Director may accept, deposit and disburse gifts, donations, contributions and bequests to the hospitals and clinics of the Virgin Islands to be utilized or expended by the Hospital Administrator or Medical Director, subject, to the approval o…
19 V.I.C. § 281 Fees payable by private patients
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Professional service fees may be charged by physicians, dentists and nurses for personal services rendered to private patients in the Government hospitals. If Government supplies are used, their actual cost shall be billed monthly by the Government hospital and paid for by the pr…
19 V.I.C. § 282 Resident physicians; salary; accommodations; subsidization of accommodations for St. John nursing personnel
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(a)–(c) [Repealed eff. Jan. 1, 1971.] (a) The Commissioner in his discretion may subsidize living accommodations for nursing personnel recruited for service on the island of St. John by contributing toward the rental of such accommodations such amount as he may deem reasonable an…
19 V.I.C. § 283 Referral of patients outside Virgin Islands; expenses
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(a) The Commissioner is hereby authorized to refer patients outside the Virgin Islands for medical, surgical and other professional services, or bring in to the Virgin Islands specialists for professional and/or consultative services, when in his professional judgment such action…
19 V.I.C. § 284 Repealed. June 24, 1987, No. 5265, § 1304(1), Sess. L. 1987, p. 103
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19 V.I.C. § 284 Statutes current through Act 9046 of the 2025 session of the 36th Legislature, including all code changes through October 25, 2025 Virgin Islands Code AnnotatedCopyright © 2026 All rights reserved.
19 V.I.C. § 285 Right of subrogation
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(a) Third-party coverage for medical care shall be primary coverage and shall be exhausted before any payment authorized under this chapter shall be made on behalf of any person eligible for services under this chapter. (b) An applicant or recipient upon admission shall inform th…
19 V.I.C. § 286 Assignment of accounts receivable for collection by third party
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Any account receivable of any hospital or clinic of the Government of the Virgin Islands which remains delinquent 90 days after the date of the first billing therefor, may be assigned for collection by a third party.
19 V.I.C. § 286a Lien created—application—priority
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(a) Every hospital, as defined in 29 V.I.C. § 221(2), that is under the jurisdiction of the Virgin Islands Government Hospital and Health Facilities Corporation has a lien for all reasonable and necessary charges for hospital care, treatment and maintenance of ill or injured pers…
19 V.I.C. § 286b Perfecting lien—filing and notice—contesting—effect of settlement or payment
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(a) In order to perfect a lien, the agent or operator of a hospital, not later than 120 days after the person has been discharged from the hospital, shall file in the office of the clerk of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands located in the division where the patient resides…
19 V.I.C. § 286c Duties of court clerk—hospital lien book—fee
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(a) The clerk of the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands in the division where the lien was filed, shall endorse on the claim the date and hour of filing and at the expense of the court shall provide a hospital lien book with proper index in which the clerk enters the date and h…
19 V.I.C. § 286d Impairment of lien—damages
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(a) No release or satisfaction or any action, suit, claim, counterclaim, demand, judgment, settlement or settlement agreement, or any of them, is valid or effectual against a hospital lien unless the hospital as the lienholder joins the action or executes a release of the lien. (…
19 V.I.C. § 286e Release of lien—fee
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(a) To release a perfected lien, the operator of the hospital to whom the lien has been paid shall execute a certificate to the effect that the claim filed by the hospital for treatment, care and maintenance has been paid or discharged and authorizing the clerk of the Superior Co…
19 V.I.C. § 286f Lienholder not to be named on checks or drafts
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No person, firm, or corporation, paying a claim, demand, or judgment shall include the name of any lienholder, as a payee on any drafts or checks issued to settle the claims, demands, or judgments.
19 V.I.C. § 286g Limitations on hospital
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This subchapter may not be construed to give any hospital an independent right of action to determine liability for injuries sustained by any person covered under this subchapter nor shall any settlement or compromise of a claim entered into on behalf of the person require the ap…
19 V.I.C. § 291 Treatment permitted
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(a) Any physician, surgeon, institution or facility of the Department of Health or any public or private hospital, or any Federally Qualified Health Center as designated by the Bureau of Primary Health Care and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services may provide counseling…
19 V.I.C. § 292 Consequences of treatment
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(a) Whenever a minor is examined, treated, hospitalized, or receives medical or surgical care under section 291 of this chapter:(a) His consent shall not be subject to disaffirmance or revocation because of minority.(b) The parent, parents, or legal guardian shall not, except for…
19 V.I.C. § 293 Immunity from suit
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Any minor who is examined, treated, hospitalized, or who received medical or surgical treatment under this chapter may give legal consent, and no person, hospital, or governmental agency administering or responsible for administering such medical or surgical treatment shall be li…
19 V.I.C. § 311 Establishment of schools of nursing
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Subject to the approval of the Governor, the Commissioner of Health may establish in the Virgin Islands, schools of nursing for the purpose of training persons in the profession of nursing and preparing them for examination for licensure as nurses.
19 V.I.C. § 401 Short title
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This chapter may be cited as “The Revised Virgin Islands Uniform Anatomical Gift Act”.
19 V.I.C. § 402 Definitions
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(1) In this chapter(1) “Agent” means an individual:(A) authorized to make health-care decisions on the principal's behalf by a power of attorney for health care; or(B) expressly authorized to make an anatomical gift on the principal's behalf by any other record signed by the prin…
19 V.I.C. § 403 Applicability
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This chapter applies to an anatomical gift or amendment to, revocation of, or refusal to make an anatomical gift, whenever made.
19 V.I.C. § 404 Who may make anatomical gift before donor's death
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(1) Subject to section 408, an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part may be made during the life of the donor for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education in the manner provided in section 405 by:(1) the donor, if the donor is at least 18 years of age o…
19 V.I.C. § 405 Manner of making anatomical gift before donor's death
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(a) A donor may make an anatomical gift:(1) by authorizing a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical gift to be imprinted on the donor's driver's license or identification card;(2) in a will; or(3) during a terminal illness or injury of the donor, by …
19 V.I.C. § 406 Amending or revoking anatomical gift before donor's death
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(a) Subject to section 408, a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 404 may amend or revoke an anatomical gift by:(1) a record signed by:(A) the donor;(B) the other person; or(C) subject to subsection (b), another individual acting at the direc…
19 V.I.C. § 407 Refusal to make anatomical gift and effect of refusal
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(a) An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part by:(1) a record signed by:(A) the individual; or(B) subject to subsection (b), another individual acting at the direction of the individual if the individual is physically unable to sign;(2) …
19 V.I.C. § 408 Preclusive effect of anatomical gift, amendment, or retroactive
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(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (g), and subject to subsection (f), in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor, a person other than the donor is barred from making, amending, or revoking an anatomical gift of a donor's body or a part if the dono…
19 V.I.C. § 409 Who may make anatomical gift of decedent's body or part
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(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) and unless barred by subsection (d), an anatomical gift of a decedent's body or part for purposes of transplantation, therapy, research, or education may be made, in the order of priority listed, by any member of the following classes of per…
19 V.I.C. § 410 Manner of making, amending, or revoking anatomical gift of decedent's body parts
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(a) A person authorized to make an anatomical gift under section 409 may make an anatomical gift by a document of gift signed by the person making the gift or that person's oral communication that is electronically recorded or is contemporaneously reduced to a record and signed b…
19 V.I.C. § 411 Persons that may receive anatomical gift; purpose of anatomical gift
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(a) An anatomical gift of a body or part may be made to the following persons named in the document of gift:(1) a hospital, accredited medical school, dental school, college, university, or organ procurement organization, or other appropriate person for research or education;(2) …
19 V.I.C. § 412 Search and notification
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(a) The following persons shall make a reasonable search of an individual who the searcher reasonably believes is dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal:(1) a law enforcement offi…
19 V.I.C. § 413 Delivery of document of gift not required; right to examine
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(a) A document of gift need not be delivered during the donor's lifetime to be effective. (b) Upon or after an individual's death, a person in possession of a document of gift or a refusal to make an anatomical gift with respect to the individual shall allow examination and copyi…
19 V.I.C. § 414 Rights and duties of procurement organization and others
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(a) When a hospital refers an individual at or near death to a procurement organization, the organization shall make a reasonable search of any donor registry and records of the Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles in the geographical area in which the individual resides to as…
19 V.I.C. § 415 Coordination of procurement and use
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Each hospital in the Virgin Islands, after consultation with procurement organizations, shall establish agreements or affiliations for coordination of procurement and use of human bodies and parts.
19 V.I.C. § 416 Sale or purchase of parts prohibited
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(a) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), a person that knowingly, for valuable consideration, purchases or sells a part for transplantation or therapy if removal of a part from an individual is intended to occur after the individual’s death commits a felony and upon co…
19 V.I.C. § 417 Penalty
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Any person that, in order to obtain financial gain, intentionally falsifies, forges, conceals, defaces, or obliterates a document of gift, an amendment or revocation of a document of gift, or a refusal in order to obtain a financial gain commits a felony and upon conviction is su…
19 V.I.C. § 418 Immunity
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(a) A person that acts in accordance with this chapter or with the applicable anatomical gift law of another state or attempts in good faith to do so is not liable for the act in a civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding. (b) Neither the person making an …
19 V.I.C. § 419 Law governing validity; choice of law as to execution of document of gift; presumption of validity
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(a) A document of gift is valid if executed in accordance with:(1) this chapter;(2) the laws of the state or country where it was executed; or(3) the laws of the state or country where the person making the anatomical gift was domiciled, has a place of residence, or was a nationa…
19 V.I.C. § 420 Donor registry
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(a) The Department of Health may establish or contract for the establishment of a donor registry. (b) The Virgin Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles shall cooperate with any donor registry that the Department of Health establishes, contracts for, or recognizes for the purpose of tra…
19 V.I.C. § 421 Effect of anatomical gift on advance health-care directive
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(a) In this section:(1) “Advance health-care directive” means a power of attorney for health care or a record signed or authorized by a prospective donor containing the prospective donor’s direction concerning a health-care decision for the prospective donor.(2) “Declaration” mea…
19 V.I.C. § 422 Cooperation between medical examiner and procurement organization
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(a) A medical examiner and a procurement organization shall cooperate to maximize the opportunity to recover anatomical gifts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education. (b) If a medical examiner receives notice from a procurement organization that an ana…
19 V.I.C. § 423 Facilitation of anatomical gift from decedent whose body is under jurisdiction of medical examiner
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(a) Upon request of a procurement organization, a medical examiner shall release to the procurement organization the name, contact information, and available medical and social history of a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner. If the decedent’s b…
19 V.I.C. § 424 Uniformity of application and construction
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In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
19 V.I.C. § 425 Relation to electronic signatures in global and national commerce act
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This act modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede section 101(a) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 7001, or authorize electronic delivery of any of the not…
19 V.I.C. § 501 Adulterated food or drink
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Any mix, frozen dessert or soft drink which contains any unwholesome substance shall be deemed adulterated and/or misbranded. No person shall within the Virgin Islands manufacture, freeze, sell, offer or expose for sale, or have in possession, with intent to sell, any mix, frozen…
19 V.I.C. § 502 Regulation of livestock slaughtering
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The slaughter of livestock, including poultry, for sale in the Virgin Islands, and the inspection of such livestock prior to slaughter, shall be conducted in accordance with regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Health.
19 V.I.C. § 503 Examination of persons handling meat
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No person suffering from any active communicable or infectious disease shall be employed in a slaughterhouse or other meat handling establishment. All persons employed in the handling of meat or meat products shall submit to a routine medical examination by the Commissioner of He…
19 V.I.C. § 504 Meat standards
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(a) The standard for the inspection of live animals, carcasses and meat, and for judging their fitness for food and their disposal if infected shall be those prescribed by regulations issued by the Commissioner of Health. (b) All meats or meat products stored, transported, offere…