Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-5-9-.01
Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 1, October 31, 2024
Section 420-5-9-.01 - General Provisions(1) Legal Authority for Adoption of Rules. The following rules for Freestanding Emergency Departments are adopted by the Alabama State Board of Health pursuant to § 22-21-20, et seq., Code of Ala. 1975.(2) Definitions. (a) Board or State Board of Health means the Alabama State Board of Health.(b) Department means the Alabama Department of Public Health.(c) Freestanding Emergency Department (FED) means a separately licensed, provider-based department of a hospital licensed by the Board which is separated from the parent hospital's main campus by not more than 35 miles driving distance by automobile. An FED operates and is held out to the public as a facility that receives patients without requiring an appointment and provides rapid and varied emergency treatment and stabilization for conditions threatening to life and limb, and sudden acute medical conditions.(d) Governing Authority means owner(s), hospital association, county hospital board, board of directors, board of governors, board of trustees, or any other comparable designation of a body duly organized and constituted for the purpose of owning, acquiring, constructing, equipping, operating, and maintaining a hospital, and exercising control over the affairs of said hospital.(e) Hospital means a health institution licensed in Alabama by the Board which is planned, organized, and maintained pursuant to the Board's Rules for Hospitals, Chapter 420-5-7, Ala. Admin. Code.(f) License means the legal authority to operate an FED as defined above and to offer and provide care as permitted under these rules. A license may only be granted by the Board through the actions of its authorized agents.(g) License Certificate means a document issued by the Department showing that the entity named on the document is licensed as an FED. A license certificate shall contain the signature of the State Health Officer and other seals and markings designed to demonstrate its authenticity. The license certificate shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the premises.(h) Parent Hospital means the licensed hospital that owns and operates an FED.(i) Physician means a person currently licensed to practice medicine and/or surgery in Alabama under the provisions contained in current state statutes.(j) Principal means an individual associated with a governing authority or a license applicant in any of the following capacities: 1. Administrator, or equivalent;2. Chief Executive Officer, or equivalent;3. Owner of a controlling interest in the governing authority, or, if the governing authority is a subsidiary of another business entity, owner of a controlling interest in the parent business entity; or4. If no person has a controlling interest in the governing authority or in a parent corporation of the governing authority, then an owner of 10 percent or more of the governing authority or of any business entity of which the governing authority is a subsidiary.(k) Registered Nurse means a person who holds an active license issued by the Alabama Board of Nursing.(3) An FED shall be accredited by the same accrediting organization as the parent hospital if the parent hospital has federal deemed status with the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).(4) An FED, as a department of a hospital, shall be in compliance with the hospital conditions of participation as found at 42 CFR § 482 as they relate to emergency departments and with the requirements found at 42 CFR § 413.65 for provider-based off campus departments of the main hospital.(5) An FED shall not retain any patient beyond 23 hours and 59 minutes under normal operations and shall not hold itself out as an emergency hospital.Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-5-9-.01
New Rule: Filled July 22, 2013; effective August 26, 2013.Authors: W. T. Geary, Jr., M.D., Carter Sims
Statutory Authority:Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 22-21-20, et seq.