Chapter 16, Chapter 16

(a) The commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health shall establish and maintain an oral health program. (b) The commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health shall appoint a dentist licensed in this state as director of the oral health program who shall administer the program pu…

(a) The director of the oral health program shall implement and maintain the oral health program to include, but not be limited to, the following goals and objectives: (1) The development of comprehensive dental health plans within the framework of the state plan of operation, pr…

(a) The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Resources may, in his or her discretion, transfer funds from other programs within his or her control, to the special revenue account created in this section for the purposes established in this article. (b) The director may…

The director may enter into contracts and agreements necessary to facilitate the efficient and economical provision of oral health services under this article, including contracts for the purchase of services, equipment, and supplies from qualified providers, if included in the p…

In this article the following words have the meanings indicated: "988 Crisis Hotline Center" or "hotline center" means a state-identified center participating in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Network to respond to statewide or regional 988 calls. "Commercial mobile rad…

(a) Prior to July 1, 2022, the secretary shall designate a crisis hotline center or centers to provide crisis intervention services and crisis care coordination to individuals accessing the 988 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline from any jurisdiction within t…

(a) Crisis receiving and stabilization services as related to the call shall be reimbursed by the department if the individual for whom services were provided meets the definition of an uninsured person or if the crisis stabilization service is not a covered service by the indivi…

The secretary at his or her discretion may hire employees, fix compensation, define duties, grant such individuals appropriate authority to carry out the purposes of this article, make and sign any agreements, and may do and perform any acts necessary to accomplish the planning r…

The secretary shall establish time frames to accomplish the provisions of this article consistent with the time frames required by the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020 and the Federal Communication Commission’s rules adopted on July 16, 2020.

(a) The secretary may propose legislative rules for promulgation in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to implement the provisions of this article, including, but not limited to, allowing appropriate information sharing and communication between and across crisis and e…

The secretary shall submit an annual report to the Governor, Legislature, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Federal Communications Commission that includes: The usage of the 988 suicide prevention and behavioral health crisis hotline and the r…

For the purposes of this article: (1) "Bittering agent" means an aversive agent that renders engine coolant or antifreeze unpalatable; and (2) "Engine coolant" or "antifreeze" means: (A) A substance or preparation, regardless of its origin used as the cooling medium in the coolin…

(a) Any engine coolant or antifreeze manufactured in this state after January 1, 2012, or sold after that date within West Virginia that contains more than ten percent ethylene glycol shall include not less than thirty parts per million and not more than fifty parts per million d…

The Legislature finds and declares that: (1) Congenital heart defects are structural abnormalities of the heart that are present at birth; congenital heart defects range in severity from simple problems such as holes between chambers of the heart, to severe malformations, such as…

(a) The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health shall require each birthing facility licensed by the Department of Health to perform a pulse oximetry screening on every newborn in its care, when the baby is twenty-four to forty-eight hours of age, or as late as possible if t…

As used in this article: (1) "Photo therapy device" means a device used for exposure to daylight or to specific wavelengths of light using lasers, light-emitting diodes, fluorescent lamps, dichroic lamps or very bright, full-spectrum light, usually controlled with various devices…

Nothing in this article may be construed as prohibiting any health care provider licensed under chapter thirty of this code from performing any action within the scope of his or her practice that results in prescribing the use of a photo therapy device to a patient regardless of …

(a) A tanning facility shall provide to any patron who wishes to use a tanning device located within its tanning facility a disclosure and consent form relating to use of a tanning device that contains the current United States Food and Drug Administration warning as follows: “Da…

Local health departments shall have the authority to enter and inspect a tanning facility to determine compliance with the requirements of this article.

(a) Any owner of a tanning facility who violates the requirements of this article is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, for a first offense, shall be fined $100. (b) For a second offense, the owner is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall …

(a) The purpose of this article is to prevent deaths in circumstances involving individuals who have overdosed on opiates. (b) The Legislature finds that permitting licensed health care providers to prescribe opioid antagonists to initial responders as well as individuals at risk…

As used in this article: (1) "Initial responder" means emergency medical service personnel, as defined in subdivision (g), section three, article four-c of this chapter, including, but not limited to, a member of the West Virginia State Police, a sheriff, a deputy sheriff, a muni…

(a) The following individuals may prescribe an opioid antagonist in the manner prescribed by this subsection: (1) A licensed health care provider acting in good faith and exercising good reasonable care may directly or by standing order prescribe an opioid antagonist to: (A) A pe…

(a) Pursuant to the protocol developed under subsection (f) of this section, a pharmacist or pharmacy intern under the supervision of a pharmacist may dispense an opioid antagonist without a prescription. (b) A pharmacist or pharmacy intern who dispenses an opioid antagonist with…

(a) Local and state governmental agencies that employ initial responders must provide opioid antagonist rescue kits to their initial responders, require initial responders to successfully complete the training required by §16-46-6(b) of this code, and require the initial responde…

(a) A licensed health care provider who is permitted by law to prescribe drugs, including opioid antagonists, may, if acting in good faith, prescribe and subsequently dispense or distribute an opioid antagonist without being subject to civil liability or criminal prosecution unle…

(a) Beginning March 1, 2016, and annually after that the following reports shall be compiled: (1) The Office of Emergency Medical Services shall collect data regarding each administration of an opioid antagonist by an initial responder. The Office of Emergency Medical Services sh…

(a) The state health officer may prescribe on a statewide basis an opioid antagonist by one or more standing orders to eligible recipients. (b) A standing order must specify, at a minimum: (1) The opioid antagonist formulations and means of administration that are approved for di…

This article is known as and may be cited as the Alcohol and Drug Overdose Prevention and Clemency Act.

(a) West Virginia currently has the highest drug overdose mortality rate in the United States. Since 1999, the number of drug overdose deaths in West Virginia has increased by over six hundred percent. Similarly, the age-adjusted death rate from alcohol-related overdoses has sign…

As used in this article: (1) "Overdose" means an acute condition, including, but not limited to, life-threatening physical illness, coma, mania, hysteria or death, which is the result of the consumption or use of a controlled substance or alcohol. (2) "Emergency medical assistanc…

(a) Subject to the requirements of subsection (c) of this section, a person who, in good faith and in a timely manner, seeks emergency medical assistance for a person who reasonably appears to be experiencing an overdose may not be held criminally responsible for a violation of t…

(a) The immunity provisions in §16-47-4(a) of this code extend to the person for whom emergency medical assistance was sought if, after receiving emergency medical assistance, the person participates in, complies with, and completes a substance abuse treatment or recovery program…

Except in cases of willful, wanton or reckless misconduct, law-enforcement personnel are immune from civil liability for citing or arresting a person who is later determined to qualify for immunity under this article.

This article shall be known and may be cited as the "Achieving a Better Life Experience in West Virginia Act" or the "West Virginia ABLE Act".

The purpose of the West Virginia ABLE Act savings program is to authorize the establishment of savings accounts empowering individuals with a disability and their families to save private funds to support the individual with a disability and to provide guidelines for the maintena…

(a) “ABLE Act” means the federal legislation codified in Section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. § 529A, and related treasury regulations, as amended from time to time. Any references in this article to Section 529A include related treasury regulations. (b) “…

(a) The Treasurer shall implement and administer the program under the terms and conditions established by this article. In order to implement and administer the program, the Treasurer may: (1) Engage the services of consultants on a contract basis for rendering professional and …

(a) The Treasurer may implement the program through use of financial organizations as account depositories and managers. The Treasurer may solicit proposals from financial organizations to act as depositories and managers of the program. Financial organizations submitting proposa…

(a) Any ABLE savings accounts established pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be opened and managed by a designated beneficiary or a person or entity with signature authority, according to the ABLE Act. (b) Each designated beneficiary may have only one account. (c) I…

(a) Nothing in this act creates any obligation of the Treasurer, the state or any agency or instrumentality of the state to guarantee for the benefit of any account owner or designated beneficiary with respect to the: (1) Return of principal; (2) Rate of interest or other return …

(a) The West Virginia ABLE savings program trust fund is hereby established in the State Treasury. The fund shall be utilized if the Treasurer elects to accept deposits from contributors rather than have deposits sent directly to the program manager. Such fund shall consist of an…

As used in this article the term: (1) "Administer" means to directly apply an epinephrine auto-injector to the body of an individual. (2) "Authorized entity" means an entity or organization where allergens capable of causing a severe allergic reaction may be present. (3) "Authori…

The department may: (1) Propose legislative rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, necessary to administer this article; and (2) Conduct and approve education training programs.

Educational training programs shall be conducted by a nationally recognized organization experienced in training laypersons in emergency health treatment or an entity or individual approved by the department. The curriculum shall include at a minimum: (1) Recognition of the sympt…

(a) An authorized health care practitioner may prescribe an epinephrine injector to an authorized entity. A pharmacist may dispense an epinephrine auto-injectors pursuant to a prescription issued in the name of an authorized entity. (b) An authorized entity may acquire and stock …

(a) The administration of an epinephrine auto-injector in accordance with this article is not the practice of medicine. (b) An authorized health care practitioner who prescribes epinephrine auto-injectors to an authorized entity; an authorized entity that possesses and makes avai…

This article shall be known and may be cited as the Ben Price Right to Try Act.

For the purposes of this article: (1) “Eligible patient” means a person who has: (A) A life-threatening or severely debilitating illness, attested to by a treating physician. (B) Considered all other treatment options currently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administ…

(a) A manufacturer of an investigational drug, biological product or device may make available the manufacturer’s investigational drug, biological product or device to eligible patients pursuant to this article. This article does not require that a manufacturer make available an …