Chapter 16B, Chapter 16B

It is declared to be the public policy of this state that: (1) The Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health Facilities need separate and independent oversight by an autonomous agency to protect the vulnerable citizens served by these ag…

(a) The Office of the Inspector General is continued as a separate and autonomous agency within the Department of Health. The Department of Health shall provide administrative support, at the request of the Office of Inspector General. Shared services shall be provided at the req…

(a) The Board of Review shall provide a fair, impartial, and expeditious grievance and appeal process to applicants or recipients of assistance as defined in §9-1-2 et seq. of this code and to all parties of contested cases arising under §29A-5-1 et seq. (b) The Bureau of Medical…

(a) The Inspector General and the Chair of the Board of Review may subpoena witnesses, papers, records, documents and any other information or data it considers necessary for its determination. They shall issue all subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum in the name of the appropriat…

(a) When the Investigations and Fraud Management Unit of the Office of the Inspector General, which is charged with investigating welfare fraud and intra-agency employee misconduct, has credible information that indicates a person has engaged in an act or activity related to the …

No person, partnership, association, corporation, or any state or local governmental unit or any division, department, board, or agency thereof shall establish, conduct, or maintain in the State of West Virginia any ambulatory health care facility, ambulatory surgical facility, f…

Information received by the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification under the provisions of this article shall be confidential and shall not be publicly disclosed except in a proceeding involving the question of the issuance or revocation of a license.

Any person, partnership, association, or corporation, and any state or local governmental unit or any division, department, board, or agency thereof establishing, conducting, managing, or operating an ambulatory health care facility, ambulatory surgical facility, a hospital, or e…

Notwithstanding the existence or pursuit of any other remedy, the Inspector General may, in the manner provided by law, maintain an action in the name of the state for an injunction against any person, partnership, association, corporation, or state or any local governmental unit…

(a) Every public and private hospital licensed pursuant to §16B-3-2 of this code and every birthing center licensed pursuant to §16B-20-1 et seq. of this code, that provides obstetrical services in West Virginia, shall participate in the hospital-based paternity program. (b) The …

(a) Definitions – As used in this section: (1) "Critical Access Hospital" means a hospital that has been deemed eligible and received designation as a critical access hospital by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). (2) "Rural Emergency Hospital" means a facility…

(a) A public or private hospital licensed pursuant to the provisions of §16B-3-2 of this code is required to permit patient visitation privileges for nonrelatives unless otherwise requested by the patient or legal designee. For purposes of this section, the term "legal designee" …

(a) Any hospital, extended care facility operated in connection with a hospital, ambulatory health care facility, or ambulatory surgical facility, freestanding or operated in connection with a hospital licensed in the State of West Virginia under this article that intends to term…

(a) As used in this section, the following words mean: (1) "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention" or "CDC" means the United States Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; (2) "National Healthcare Safety Network" or "NHSN" means th…

(a) A hospital, as that term is defined in §16B-3-1 et seq. of this code, shall be recognized by the Office of Emergency Medical Services as a comprehensive stroke center (CSC), thrombectomy-capable stroke center (TSC), primary stroke center (PSC), or an acute stroke-ready hospit…

(a) The governing board of a hospital licensed under §16B-3-2 of this code may establish a hospital police department and appoint qualified individuals to serve as hospital police officers upon any premises owned or leased by the hospital and under the jurisdiction of the governi…

No person, partnership, association, corporation, or any state or local governmental unit or any division, department, board, or agency thereof may continue to operate an existing ambulatory health care facility, ambulatory surgical facility, hospital, or extended care facility o…

(a) As used in this section: "Acuity-based patient classification system" means a set of criteria based on scientific data that acts as a measurement instrument which predicts registered nursing care requirements for individual patients based on severity of patient illness, need …

(a) As used in this section: (1) "Energy generating device" means any tool that performs a surgical function using heat, laser, electricity, or another form of energy; (2) "Smoke evacuation system" means smoke evacuators, laser plume evacuators, or local exhaust ventilators that …

Any person, partnership, association, or corporation, or any state or local governmental unit or any division, department, board, or agency thereof desiring a license hereunder shall file with the state Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification a verified application …

(a) The application of any person, partnership, association, corporation, or any state or local government unit for a license to operate a hospital or extended care facility operated in connection with a hospital, shall be accompanied by a fee to be determined by the number of be…

Every building, institution, or establishment for which a license has been issued shall be inspected periodically by a duly appointed representative of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification under rules and regulations to be promulgated by the Inspector General…

Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a periodic license inspection shall not be conducted by the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification for a hospital if the hospital has applied for and received an exemption from that requirement: Provided, That no…

The Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification is hereby authorized to issue licenses for the operation of ambulatory health care facilities, ambulatory surgical facilities, hospitals, or extended care facilities operated in connection with hospitals which are found to…

Any applicant or licensee who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification as a result of the hearing provided in §16B-3-6 of this code may, within thirty days after receiving notice of the decision, appeal to the West Virginia In…

The Inspector General shall have the power to promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the provisions of §29-1-1 et seq. of this code and the director shall have the power to enforce such rules and regulations, as the Inspector General may establish, not in conflict wi…

Any hospital, or other similar institution, required to be licensed under this article, upon request, shall supply to any patient who has received services from the hospital, whether on an inpatient or outpatient basis, one itemized statement which describes with specificity the …

It is the policy of this state to encourage and promote the development and utilization of resources to ensure the effective and financially efficient care and treatment of persons who are convalescing or whose physical or mental condition requires them to receive a degree of nur…

(a) Reports of all inspections made pursuant to §16B-4-8 and §16B-4-9 of this code shall be in writing and filed with the director and shall list all deficiencies in the nursing home’s compliance with the provisions of this article and the rules adopted hereunder. (1) No later th…

(a) The director, in consultation with the Inspector General, may reduce the bed quota of the nursing home or impose a ban on new admissions, where he or she finds upon inspection of the nursing home that the licensee is not providing adequate care under the nursing home's existi…

(a) The director, in consultation with the Inspector General, shall deny, limit, suspend, or revoke a license issued if the provisions of this article or if the rules promulgated pursuant to this article are violated. The director, in consultation with the Inspector General, may …

(a) A facility or licensee adversely affected by an order or citation of a deficient practice issued pursuant to this article or by a citation issued for a deficient practice pursuant to federal law may request the independent informal dispute resolution process. A facility may c…

(a) Any applicant or licensee who is dissatisfied with the decision of the formal hearing as a result of the hearing provided for in §16B-4-12 of this code may, within 30 days after receiving notice of the decision, petition the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals for jud…

(a) Legal counsel and services for the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certification in all administrative hearings may be provided by the Attorney General or a staff attorney and all proceedings in any circuit court and the Supreme Court of Appeals shall be provided by t…

(a) Whoever establishes, maintains, or is engaged in establishing or maintaining a nursing home without a license granted under §16B-4-6 of this code, or who prevents, interferes with or impedes in any way the lawful enforcement of this article, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, up…

(a) Each nursing home subject to the provisions of this article shall hold in a separate account and in trust each resident’s personal funds deposited with the nursing home. (b) No person may use or cause to be used for any purpose the personal funds of any resident admitted to a…

Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the contrary, the Inspector General shall promulgate legislative rules, in compliance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code, pertaining to nursing homes, when those rules are required for compliance with federal law or …

(a) When the health status of a nursing home facility resident declines to the state of terminal illness or when the resident receives a physician’s order for "comfort measures only", the facility shall notify the resident with information about the option of receiving hospice pa…

All personnel of a nursing home by virtue of ownership, employment, engagement, or agreement with a provider or contractor shall be subject to the provisions of the West Virginia Clearance for Access: Registry and Employment Screening Act, §16B-15-1 et seq. of this code and the r…

As used in this article, unless a different meaning appears from the context: "Deficiency" means a nursing home’s failure to meet the requirements specified in §16B-4-1 et seq. of this code and rules promulgated thereunder. "Department" means the Department of Health. "Director" …

(a) Every written agreement containing a waiver of a right to a trial by jury that is entered into between a nursing home and a person for the nursing care of a resident, must have as a separate and stand-alone document any waiver of a right to a trial by jury. (b) Nothing in thi…

In the administration of this article, the Inspector General shall have the following powers, duties, and rights: (a) To enforce rules and standards promulgated hereunder for nursing homes; (b) To exercise as sole authority all powers relating to the issuance, suspension, and rev…

The director may, at such time or times as he or she may deem necessary, employ such administrative employees, inspectors, or other persons as may be necessary to properly carry out the provisions of this article. All employees of the Office of Health Facility Licensure and Certi…

(a) All rules shall be proposed for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code. The Inspector General shall recommend the adoption, amendment, or repeal of such rules as may be necessary or proper to carry out the purposes and intent o…

No person may establish, operate, maintain, offer, or advertise a nursing home within this state unless and until he or she obtains a valid license therefor as hereinafter provided, which license remains unsuspended, unrevoked, and unexpired. No public official or employee may pl…

(a) Each nursing home shall disclose in writing to all residents at the time of admission a complete and accurate list of all costs which may be incurred by them, and shall notify the residents 30 days in advance of changes in costs. The nursing home shall make available copies o…

(a) The director shall establish rules for prompt investigation of all complaints of alleged violations by nursing homes of applicable requirements of state law or rules, except for such complaints that the director determines are willfully intended to harass a licensee or are wi…

The director and any duly designated employee or agent shall have the right to enter upon and into the premises of any nursing home at any time for which a license has been issued, for which an application for license has been filed with the director, or which the director has re…

(a) The director may grant an exemption from a license inspection if a nursing home was found to be in substantial compliance with the provisions of this chapter at its most recent inspection and there have been no substantiated complaints thereafter. The director may not grant m…

(a) It is the policy of this state to encourage and promote the development and utilization of resources to ensure the effective care and treatment of persons who are dependent upon the services of others by reason of physical or mental impairment who may require limited and inte…