reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 71c - Minimum Safety and Quality of Services Standards for Dementia Special Care Units; Compliance by Providers of Specialized Services or Programming Licensed Under Sec. 71; Training

Section 71C. (a) The department, in consultation with the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter, Inc. and representatives from the nursing home provider community shall promulgate regulations to establish minimum standards for dementia special care units to ensure safety and quality of services including:
(1) dementia-specific training for all direct care workers, activities directors and supervisors of direct care workers in both traditional nursing homes and dementia special care units;
(2) activities programs in dementia special care units that provide dementia-specific activities; and
(3) guidelines for dementia special care unit physical design including, but not limited, to anti-wandering methods and promoting a therapeutic environment.
(b) A licensee under section 71 that holds itself out to the public or advertises that it is a provider of specialized services and programming for dementia special care units in long-term care facilities shall meet the standards set forth under this section in order to provide those services. A nursing home that operates a dementia special care unit shall disclose to consumers and to the department the specialized services the dementia special care unit provides for patients affected by alzheimer's and related dementias.
(c) A licensee of the department under section 71 shall provide dementia-specific training for direct care workers, activities directors and supervisors of direct care workers in a facility that does not hold itself out to the public or advertise that it is a provider of specialized services and programming for dementia special care units in long-term care facilities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72aa - Informational Document Containing Laws and Regulations; Distribution by Long-Term Care Facilities

Section 72AA. Long-term care facilities shall distribute to each new resident, a resident's family member or health care proxy, at the time of admission, an informational document written by the department of public health in layperson's language about the laws and regulations that govern nursing homes, rest homes and long-term care facilities. Information in the document shall include, but not be limited to, the location of all relevant state and federal laws and regulations relating to long-term care facilities. The nursing home shall be required to maintain a record with the signature as acknowledgment of receipt by the resident, family member or health care proxy.
For the purposes of this section, ''long-term care facilities'' shall mean nursing homes or skilled nursing or rehabilitation facilities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72bb - Administering of Psychotropic Medication by Nursing Home, Rest Home or Other Long-Term Care Facility; Informed Consent

Section 72BB. (a) For the purposes of this section, the term ''facility'' shall mean a nursing home, rest home or other long-term care facility.
(b) The department shall establish a schedule of psychotropic medications that shall not be administered to a resident by a facility without informed written consent.
(c) Prior to administering psychotropic medication listed on the schedule created under subsection (b), a facility shall obtain the informed written consent of the resident, the resident's health care proxy or the resident's guardian. Informed written consent shall be obtained on a form approved by the department, which shall include, at a minimum, the following information: (i) the purpose for administering the listed psychotropic drug; (ii) the prescribed dosage; and (iii) any known effect or side effect of the psychotropic medication. The written consent form shall be kept in the resident's medical record.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72c - Convalescent or Nursing Homes; Lighting and Ventilation

Section 72C. All convalescent or nursing homes shall be provided throughout with electric lighting, and shall have an emergency lighting system for the boiler room, exits, stairs, patient corridors and nurses' stations, which shall be maintained in proper working order and kept available for use when required, and an emergency generator or battery with a capacity sufficient to supply the emergency lighting system for a period of at least one and one half hours, and for such further period as may be determined by rule or regulation of the department. Lighting of not less than five foot candles shall be provided during the night in all corridors and toilets, and lighting of not less than one foot candle shall be provided during the night in patients' rooms. All rooms or other areas used by patients shall, unless lights are kept on therein continuously, have light switches so located as to be within easy reach of wheel chair patients.
The use of candles, kerosene lamps or lanterns or other open flame methods of illumination in a convalescent or nursing home is prohibited.
All convalescent or nursing homes shall provide each room and space therein which does not have an outside window and which is used by patients or personnel of such home with forced or other ventilation sufficient to change the air therein at least once in six minutes.
The department shall make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, and shall establish standards of lighting for convalescent or nursing homes, said standards to be in accordance with the lighting levels of the Illuminating Engineering Society.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72d - Nursing Homes, etc.; Telephone Access

Section 72D. Every nursing home, rest home, and long-term care facility shall provide telephone access for the use of the residents. Telephones shall be located so as to assure privacy during usage, for use by wheelchair residents, and shall be equipped for sound amplification. The department shall promulgate regulations under this section and may allow in such regulations extensions of time and waivers for certain homes and long-term care facilities which the department shall find to be in hardship if the provisions of this section are implemented forthwith.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72e - Convalescent and Nursing Homes; Notice of Violations; Plan of Correction; Penalties; Enforcement

Section 72E. The department shall, after every inspection by its agent made under authority of section seventy-two, give the licensee of the inspected facility notice in writing of every violation of the applicable rules and regulations of the department found upon said inspection. The department in such notice shall specify a reasonable time, not more than sixty days after receipt thereof, by which time the licensee shall remedy or correct each violation cited therein; provided, that, in the case of any violation which in the opinion of the department is not capable of correction within sixty days, the department shall require only that the licensee submit a written plan for correction of the violation in a reasonable manner. The department may modify any nonconforming plan upon notice in writing to the licensee. Failure to remedy or correct a cited violation by the date specified in a written notice hereunder or failure to remedy or correct a cited violation by the date specified in a plan for correction as accepted or modified by the department, as the case may be, shall be cause for license revocation or such civil fine as may be imposed upon the licensee after complaint brought by the department under section seventy-three, unless the licensee shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the department or the court, as the case may be, that such failure was not due to any neglect of his duty and occurred despite his attempt in good faith to make correction by the specified time. The department may pursue either remedy or both or such other sanction as the department may impose administratively upon the licensee under section seventy-one.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the department from enforcing a rule or regulation, administratively or in court, without first affording formal opportunity to make correction under this section, where, in the opinion of the department, the violation of such rule or regulation jeopardizes the health or safety of patients or the public or seriously limits the capacity of facility to provide adequate care, or where the violation of such rule or regulation is the second or subsequent such violation occurring during a period of twelve full months.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72f - Definitions Applicable to Secs. 72f to 72l

Section 72F. As used in sections 72F to 72L, inclusive, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:
''Abuse'', the willful infliction of injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, including verbal or mental abuse, or punishment with resulting physical harm, pain or mental anguish or assault and battery; provided, however, that verbal or mental abuse shall require a knowing and willful act directed at a specific person.
''Facility'', an entity required to be licensed under section 71.
''Home health aide'', an employee of a home health agency or a hospice program who provides health services to individuals in a home setting.
''Home health agency'', an entity, however organized, whether conducted for profit or not for profit, which is advertised, announced, established or maintained for the purpose of providing health and homemaker services to individuals in a home setting.
''Homemaker'', an employee hired by a home health agency or a hospice program to perform homemaking tasks in an individual's home, including the essential nutritional and environmental needs of the individual, such as, meal preparation, cleaning and laundry.
''Hospice program'', an entity required to be licensed under section 57D or a hospice service of a hospital licensed under section 51.
''Misappropriation of patient or resident property'', the deliberate misplacement, exploitation or wrongful, temporary or permanent use of a patient's or resident's belongings or money without such patient's or resident's consent.
''Mistreatment'', the use of medications or treatments, isolation, or physical or chemical restraints which harm or are likely to harm the patient or resident.
''Neglect'', failure to provide goods and services necessary to avoid physical harm, mental anguish or mental illness.
''Nurse aide'', an individual who is not a licensed health professional but is employed by a facility which provides nursing or nursing-related services to residents.
''Patient'', an individual who receives health, homemaker or hospice services at home from an individual employed by a home health agency or a hospice program.
''Religious accommodation'', no person shall be considered to be abused or neglected for the reason that such person, in accordance with his express or implied consent, is being furnished or relies upon treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone in accordance with a religious method of healing in lieu of medical treatment.
''Resident'', an individual who resides in a long term care facility licensed under section 71.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72h - Duties of Department

Section 72H. The department shall, subject to appropriation:
(1) notify the attorney general forthwith upon receipt of an oral or written report made under the provisions of section 72G;
(2) investigate and evaluate the information reported in any such report. Such investigation and evaluation shall be made within 24 hours if the department has reasonable cause to believe the patient's or resident's health or safety is in immediate danger from further abuse or neglect and within seven days for all other such reports. The investigation shall include a visit to the facility, the home health agency, the hospice program or the home of the patient, an interview with the patient or resident allegedly abused, mistreated or neglected or whose property was allegedly misappropriated, a determination of the nature, extent and cause or causes of the injuries, the identity of the person or persons responsible therefor and all other pertinent facts. Such determinations and evaluations shall be in the form of a written report;
(3) evaluate the environment of the facility named in the report and make a written determination of the risk of physical or emotional injury to any other residents in such facility;
(4) forward a copy of the department's written report to the attorney general within a reasonable time after a case has been investigated;
(5) if it has reasonable cause to believe that a patient or resident has died as a result of abuse, mistreatment or neglect, immediately report such death to the attorney general, the district attorney for the county in which such death occurred and the medical examiner as required by section 3 of chapter 38; and
(6) promulgate such regulations as may be necessary to implement the provisions of sections 72F to 72J, inclusive.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72i - Filing of Reports; Confidentiality

Section 72I. The department shall, subject to appropriation, maintain a file of the written reports prepared pursuant to sections 72G and 72H. The report submitted by the mandatory or nonmandatory reporter to the department and the report prepared by the department following its investigation shall be confidential.
The patient or resident or counsel therefor, the reporting person or agency, the appropriate professional board of registration or a social worker assigned to the case may, upon written request and the approval of the commissioner, receive a copy of the department's written report.
The department's written report shall not be made available to any person other than those authorized herein without the written, informed consent of the patient or resident or the written approval of the commissioner or an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The reports prepared by the department shall contain no identifying information relating to a patient or resident.
A person who causes any information which is contained in the department's files maintained pursuant to section 72I to be released without authorization to persons or agencies other than those specified in this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than two and one-half years, or both such fine and imprisonment.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72k - Definitions; Civil Penalties; Recovery by Attorney General

Section 72K. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:—
''Bodily injury'', substantial impairment of the physical condition including, but not limited to, any burn, fracture of any bone, subdural hematoma, injury to any internal organ, or any injury which occurs as the result of repeated harm to any bodily function or organ, including human skin.
''Serious bodily injury'', bodily injury which results in a permanent disfigurement, protracted loss or impairment of a bodily function, limb or organ, or substantial risk of death.
''Sexual assault'', a violation or attempt to commit a violation of section 13B, 13B1/2, 13B3/4, 13F, 13H, 22, 22A, 22B, 22C, 23, 23A, 23B, 24 or section 24B of chapter 265 or section 3 of chapter 272.
(b) The attorney general may file a civil action against a person who commits abuse, mistreatment or neglect of a patient or resident or who misappropriates patient or resident property, or against a person who wantonly or recklessly permits or causes another to commit abuse, mistreatment or neglect of a patient or resident or who misappropriates patient or resident property. The civil penalty for such abuse, mistreatment, neglect or misappropriation shall not exceed: $5,000 if no bodily injury results; $10,000 if bodily injury results; $20,000 if sexual assault or serious bodily injury results; and $50,000 if death results. Section 60B of chapter 231 shall not apply to an action brought by the attorney general pursuant to this section. Nothing in this section shall preclude the filing of any action brought by the attorney general or a private party pursuant to chapter 93A or any action by the department pursuant to this chapter.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72l - Abuse by Licensed or Registered Professional; Any Necessary Disciplinary Action Including Suspension or Revocation of License

Section 72L. Upon a finding by the department of patient or resident abuse, mistreatment or neglect or misappropriation of patient or resident property or a failure to report such instances by a licensed or registered professional, the department or the attorney general shall notify the appropriate board of registration as provided in chapter 112. If a licensed or registered professional has abused, mistreated or neglected a patient or resident or misappropriated patient or resident property or has failed to report such instances, the appropriate board shall take any necessary disciplinary action, including suspension or revocation of such person's license as provided in section 61 of chapter 112, subject to the prescribed procedures.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72l1/2 - Immunity From Liability as Result of Compliance With Secs. 72f to 72l

Section 72L1/2. A facility, home health agency, hospice program, the directors thereof and, employees and consultants thereof shall be immune from liability as a result of compliance with the provisions of sections 72F to 72L, inclusive.
A facility, home health agency or hospice program as defined in section 72F which is asked to provide an employment reference with respect to a named individual who is either working for or has worked for such facility, home health agency or hospice program shall not be liable for disclosing information related to the named individual's employment history, including whether the former employee was voluntarily or involuntarily released from service and the reasons for such employee's release from employment with the former employer unless it is alleged and proven that the information disclosed was false and disclosed with knowledge that such information was false.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72m - Appointment of Receiver; Emergency; Definition

Section 72M. The superior court department of the trial court, upon petition of the attorney general or upon petition of the department or any interested party, as hereinafter provided, shall appoint a receiver for any institution subject to licensing under section seventy-one, hereinafter called a facility, provided that the court finds that an emergency exists or that the facility is operating without a license or without a valid, completed application for licensure on file with and awaiting action by the department, or the department has denied, revoked or refused to renew a license, or has initiated license denial, revocation or nonrenewal procedures and the lives, health, safety or welfare of the residents cannot be adequately assured pending the full hearing and decision on the matter.
As used in this section ''emergency'' shall mean a situation or condition which presents imminent danger of death or serious physical harm to patients, including but not limited to imminent or actual abandonment of an occupied facility, and excluding a crisis due solely to a natural disaster beyond the control of the licensee where the licensee is taking appropriate remedial steps. An organized labor activity conducted for union recognition or as a tactic in contract negotiations shall not, of itself, constitute an emergency. Voluntary withdrawal from participation as a provider of services under the medical care and assistance program, established under chapter one hundred and eighteen E, or under the program of health insurance for the aged and disabled established under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (P.L.—89–97) where such withdrawal was not occasioned by the denial of certification to the facility, shall not, of itself, constitute an emergency.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72p - Leases, Mortgages or Secured Transactions; Avoidance; Setting of Rental or Interest Rate; Hearing; Foreclosure

Section 72P. A receiver shall not be required to honor any lease, mortgage, or secured transaction entered into by the licensee of the facility if the court finds that the agreement was entered into for a fraudulent purpose or to hinder or delay creditors or that the rental, price or rate of interest required to be paid under the agreement is in excess of a reasonable rental, price or rate of interest at the time the agreement was entered into; or the agreement is unrelated to the operation of the facility.
If the receiver is in possession of real or personal property subject to a lease, mortgage or security interest which the receiver is permitted to avoid, and if the possession of said property is necessary for the continued operation of the facility the receiver shall apply to the court to set a reasonable rental, price or rate of interest to be paid by the receiver to the person entitled thereto during the duration of the receivership. The court shall hold a hearing on the application within fifteen days. The receiver shall send notice of the application to any owners of record and to mortgagees and other secured parties and lienholders of record of the property involved at least ten days prior to the hearing. In no event shall the amount set by the court exceed what is reasonable for the facility in light of the usual regulations of the center for health information and analysis and the private census of the facility. Payment by the receiver of the amount determined by the court to be reasonable shall be a defense to any action against the receiver for payment or for the possession of said property subject to the lease, mortgages or security interest involved by any person who received such notice.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, there shall be no foreclosure or eviction during the receivership period where such foreclosure or eviction would, in the view of the court, serve to defeat the purpose of the receivership.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72q - Compensation of Receiver; Bond; Lien; Recoupment of Commonwealth Expenditures

Section 72Q. The court shall set a reasonable compensation for the receiver that is consistent with the regulations of the center for health information and analysis, and shall require the receiver to furnish a bond. Such expenses shall be paid from the revenues of the facility.
The licensee shall be liable for any adjustment to the facility's rate that is necessitated by the provisions of the first paragraph of this section.
The commonwealth shall have a lien for any expenditure under section seventy-two O upon the following property: the building in which the facility is located; the land on which the facility is located; any fixtures, equipment or goods used in the operation of the facility. Such lien shall be prior to any mortgage or lien which the court finds has been executed or obtained for a fraudulent purpose or to hinder or delay creditors. Such lien shall also be prior to a mortgage or lien held by any person with an ownership interest in the facility; or any person which controls or has the ability to directly or indirectly control to any significant degree the management of policies of the licensee or the facility; or any person related to the licensee or to the facility by any significant degree of common ownership or common control. The receiver shall cause notice of any lien created hereunder to be duly filed.
As an additional remedy for recouping commonwealth expenditures, the licensee, persons responsible for the affairs of the licensee, or the owner, may be held liable for such expenditures to the extent that any of these persons benefits financially from the expenditure. Recoupment shall also be available against any person who, prior to the appointment of the receiver, breached a legal responsibility to assure appropriate maintenance of the facility, if such breach necessitated the expenditure by the commonwealth, and against any person who was responsible for an abandonment of the facility.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72r - Termination of Receivership

Section 72R. A receivership shall not be terminated if a license to operate the facility would not be in effect upon termination; or the facility would revert to the licensee during the pendency of proceedings to revoke, deny, or suspend its license; or the facility would revert to a person not approved for licensure by the department.
The court may terminate a receivership under the following conditions: the department grants a license to operate the facility to the licensee divested of possession and control by the receiver; or there is a transfer of ownership of the facility to a transferee approved for licensure by the department; or all residents of the facility have been provided appropriate alternative placements, either in another facility or otherwise, and the subject facility is closed.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the second paragraph, a receivership shall not be terminated in favor of the former licensee, or, in the discretion of the court, a related person, unless such person first makes restitution to the department of public welfare of any rate increases for the receiver's compensation paid to the facility pursuant to section thirty-two A of chapter six A and such person repays the department of any amount that it may have paid to the receiver as a loan for major repairs or improvements of the facility, or assumes the obligation to repay the loan and provides collateral or other assurance of payment deemed sufficient by the department.
As an additional precondition to termination in favor of the former licensee, or in the discretion of the court, a related person, the court may require the posting of a bond in an amount fixed by the court as security for maintaining compliance with the laws and regulations governing the operation of the facility. If it shall appear that the licensee fails to maintain the facility in substantial compliance with such laws and regulations, the court, after notice to those persons who have appeared in the proceeding, and after hearing, shall reinstate its order appointing a receiver. A receiver thus appointed may use the security, or such part of the security as is necessary, to remedy the deficient conditions. A receivership thus reinstated shall be terminated only upon transfer of the facility to a purchaser approved by the department and the court, or upon closure of the facility.
If the receivership has not been terminated within twelve months of the appointment of the receiver, the court shall, after hearing, order either that the facility shall be closed, after an orderly transfer of the residents to appropriate alternative placements; or the facility shall be sold, under reasonable terms approved by the court, to a new owner approved for licensure by the department. The receivership period may be extended as necessary to protect the health and safety of the residents.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72s - Actions Against Receiver; Liability

Section 72S. No person shall bring an action against a receiver appointed under section seventy-two N without first securing leave of court. The receiver shall be liable in his personal capacity for gross negligence or intentional wrongdoing. In all other cases, the receiver shall be liable in his official capacity only, and any judgment rendered shall be satisfied out of the receivership assets.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72t - Effect of Appointment; Violation of Regulations

Section 72T. An order appointing a receiver under section seventy-two N shall have the effect of a license for the duration of the receivership. The receiver shall be responsible to the court for the conduct of the facility during the receivership, and any violation of regulations governing the conduct of the facility, if not promptly corrected, shall be reported by the department to the court.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72v - Nursing Homes, etc.; Storage Space for Residents

Section 72V. Every nursing home, rest home, or other long term care facility shall provide adequate and secure storage space for the personal property of each resident. The department shall promulgate regulations specifying methods to protect such property, including regulations providing individual access to each resident to said resident's private storage area which may include a locked drawer, to which each resident shall have a key, except that the administrator or his designee of each such facility shall hold a master key to any such locked spaces.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72w - Nurses' Aide Training

Section 72W. As used in this section the following words shall have the following meanings:--
"Long term care facility'', a convalescent home, nursing home, rest home or charitable home for the aged licensed under the provisions of section seventy-one.
"Nurses' aide'', any employee of a long term care facility who provides nursing care under the supervision of a nurse for the purpose of providing safety, comfort, personal hygiene or protection of a patient in a long term care facility.
The commissioner after consultation with the secretary of elder affairs and the board of registration shall establish standards for the training of nurses' aides which shall include a minimum of sixty hours of training.
Any person administering a long term care facility who hires a nurses' aide shall provide such training for said nurses' aide within ninety days of the commencement of employment.
Any long term care facility which complies with the provisions of this section shall have the costs of such compliance recognized in its interim rate of payment.
[ Seventh paragraph effective until July 1, 2023. For text effective July 1, 2023, see below.]
The department shall make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
[ Seventh paragraph as amended by 2023, 28, Sec. 44 effective October 1, 2024. See 2023, 28, Sec. 110. For text effective until October 1, 2024, see above.]
A nurses' aide who receives their training and works in a facility whose resident population is predominantly non-English speaking shall be offered the option to take the nurses' aide certification exam in a language other than English, including, but not limited to, Spanish and Chinese; provided, however, that the department shall determine in which languages the exam shall be offered.
[ Eighth paragraph added by 2023, 28, Sec. 44 effective October 1, 2024. See 2023, 28, Sec. 110.]
The department shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this section.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 72x - Nursing Homes; No Smoking Areas; Use of Tobacco Products Prohibited

Section 72X. All public and private nursing homes shall designate no smoking sections in certain common areas, including lobbies, cafeterias, conference rooms and employee lounges. Using tobacco products, as defined in section 6 of chapter 270, by any employee of such nursing homes is hereby prohibited in all patient care areas.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 73 - Penalties

Section 73. Whoever advertises, announces, establishes or maintains, or is concerned in establishing or maintaining, a convalescent or nursing home, infirmary maintained in a town, a rest home, charitable home for the aged or intermediate care facility for persons with an intellectual disability, or is engaged in any such business, without a license granted under section seventy-one, or whoever being licensed under said section violates any provision of sections seventy-one to seventy-three, inclusive, shall for a first offense be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars, and for a subsequent offense by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than two years.
Whoever violates any rule or regulation made under sections seventy-one, seventy-two and seventy-two C shall be punished by such fine, not to exceed fifty dollars, as the department may establish. If any person violates any such rule or regulation by allowing a condition to exist which may be corrected or remedied, the department shall order him, in writing, to correct or remedy such condition, and if such person fails or refuses to comply with such order, each day during which such failure or refusal to comply continues shall constitute a separate offense.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 73a - Facilities Operated by and for Persons Who Rely Exclusively Upon Treatment by Spiritual Means Through Prayer for Healing

Section 73A. Nothing in this chapter or in any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall be construed to authorize or require any facility which is operated by and for persons who rely exclusively upon treatment by spiritual means through prayer for healing, in accordance with the creed or tenets of a church or religious denomination to be licensed or inspected except under laws, rules or regulations pertaining to sanitation, fire, safety, and building and construction codes; nor shall any guests, patients, residents or personnel thereof be subjected to any medical supervision, regulation or control in connection with the operation of any such facility.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 73b - Facilities Operated by Roman Catholic Church

Section 73B. Nothing in this chapter or in any rule or regulation adopted pursuant thereto, shall be construed to authorize or require any facility which is operated for only those duly ordained priests, or for the members of the religious orders of the Roman Catholic Church in their own locations, buildings, residences or headquarters to provide care, shelter, treatment and medical assistance for any of the said duly ordained priests or members of the said religious orders, to be licensed or inspected; except under laws, rules or regulations pertaining to sanitation, fire, safety, and building construction codes; nor shall personnel while working at such facility be subjected to any requirements of medical supervision, regulation, or control in connection with the operation of any such facility.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 74 - Appropriation of Money for Maintenance of Free Bed in Hospital

Section 74. Any town not maintaining or managing a hospital may annually appropriate a sum not exceeding one thousand dollars, to be paid to a hospital established in such town or in the vicinity thereof, for the establishment and maintenance of a free bed in the hospital for the care and treatment of persons certified by the selectmen to be residents of the town and unable to pay for such care and treatment. This section shall not apply to cities.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 75 - Unlawful Use of Buildings for Hospitals

Section 75. Whoever occupies or uses a building for a hospital in a part of a town prohibited by the aldermen or selectmen shall forfeit not more than fifty dollars for every month of such occupancy or use and in like proportion for a shorter time. The supreme judicial or superior court may restrain such occupancy or use.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 77 - Department; Duty to Provide Care and Treatment of Tuberculosis Patients

Section 77. The department shall have responsibility for providing hospital care and treatment for all persons resident in the commonwealth suffering from tuberculosis and who need such hospital care. Such care and treatment may be made available in hospitals within the department or under a contract basis in other public or private hospitals or sanatoria licensed for such care under section seventy-one. Contracts for such care may be made by the department under such arrangements as are determined reasonable and adequate by the department except in the case of county hospitals where contracts shall be made in accord with section seventy-eight.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 78 - Utilization of County Institutions; Contracts; Notice of Discontinuance; Payments; Regulations

Section 78. Where county institutions are utilized for providing such care and treatment, the department is authorized to enter into a contract with the county commissioners of the respective counties upon terms satisfactory to the contracting parties under which the county institutions will admit tuberculous patients and give them care and treatment in compliance with the terms of the contract and the regulations of the department in regard thereto. Such contracts shall be made for periods of not longer than two years and may be renewed upon such terms as are satisfactory to the parties. Should the department determine that a particular county institution will no longer be utilized for such tuberculosis care and treatment, it must give written notice of such intention to the county commissioners at least one year in advance of such discontinuance. If such notice is given and would take effect after the expiration of an existing contract, the terms of the existing contract shall remain in effect until the end of the notice period unless a new contract is entered into by the parties. Under the terms of contracts entered into under this section the department shall pay the institutions so utilized for all general health supplies, care, services and accommodations furnished each patient under the contract, the rates established by the executive office of health and human services or a governmental unit designated by the executive office.
The department is hereby authorized to adopt regulations concerning the care and treatment of tuberculous patients in hospitals under such contract arrangements. If a hospital or sanatorium is not in compliance with these regulations the department may refuse to utilize it for such contract care.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 78a - Hospital Care of Persons Suffering From Chronic Diseases; Admission; Cost

Section 78A. The trustees of a county tuberculosis hospital may admit as patients in said hospital persons who are suffering from chronic disease; provided, that sufficient beds are at all times available for persons with tuberculosis who are eligible for admission to said hospital; and provided, further, that before the trustees admit any such chronic disease patients, said hospital is inspected by the department, is duly licensed under section seventy-one, and otherwise complies with sections seventy-two and seventy-three. Such trustees shall promulgate rules and regulations concerning the admission of such chronic disease patients as well as the method of reimbursement and the charges for their care and treatment, notwithstanding any contrary provision of this chapter. The charges to the general public for all general health supplies, care, services and accommodations shall be the rate or rates established by the executive office of health and human services or a governmental unit designated by the executive office. Such rules and regulations shall be approved by the department before taking effect.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 79 - Admissions, Transfers and Discharges of Tuberculous Patients; Supervision; Rates of Charges

Section 79. The department shall have supervision and control of all admissions, transfers, and discharges of tuberculous patients in hospitals within the department or in other hospitals under contract with the department under sections seventy-seven and seventy-eight. The department may adopt regulations concerning such admissions, transfers, and discharges as it deems necessary. The rate or rates for general health supplies, care, services and accommodations to be paid hospitals caring for tuberculosis patients under contract with the department shall be those established by the executive office of health and human services or a governmental unit designated by the executive office. No such payment shall be made with respect to any patient not approved for admission by the department. In the case of hospitals under such contracts patients may be admitted who are reasonably suspected of having tuberculosis, but a final diagnosis must be made within sixty days of admission or such longer period as specifically authorized in writing by the department.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 81 - Programs of Control and Eradication of Tuberculosis; Responsibility

Section 81. The department shall have responsibility for conducting programs aimed at controlling and eradicating tuberculosis in the commonwealth. It may establish, foster, and give such aid and assistance as it deems necessary for the establishment and maintenance of out-patient and diagnostic facilities for tuberculosis within tuberculosis hospitals, in other institutions, or in collaboration with local boards of health. It shall provide co-ordination and consultation to local boards of health in gathering and disseminating information on a state-wide basis regarding the prevalence of tuberculosis in the commonwealth.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 81a - Use of Intradermal Tuberculin Tests to Show Freedom From Tuberculosis

Section 81A. No ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation of a board of health or the requirements of any public or private institution, school or college shall be enacted, promulgated, or continued in effect which would require a chest x-ray examination to show freedom from tuberculosis in a communicable form, unless the recipient of such x-ray is known to be tuberculin positive. Any report required by such ordinance, by-law, rule or regulation showing freedom from tuberculosis in a communicable form shall be based upon a negative intradermal tuberculin test that is administered and interpreted in a manner approved by the commissioner. In the case of a person whose tuberculin test is positive, a statement by a physician, based upon the results of a standard chest x-ray film shall be required, and such other laboratory and clinical examinations as may be necessary for the exclusion of tuberculosis in a communicable form.
2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XVI - Public Health › Chapter 111 - Public Health › Section 82 - Operation of Hospitals by County Commissioners or Trustees

Section 82. The county commissioners may operate and maintain a hospital for purposes as indicated in this section. Where the county commissioners or trustees of such hospital determine that they will provide care and treatment for tuberculous patients and they enter into a contract with the department for such care under section seventy-eight they may so operate such a hospital or portion of a hospital under the terms of such contract and the provisions of this chapter. Where a county has maintained a tuberculosis hospital or sanatorium and such institution is not to be included in the contractual arrangements for care of tuberculosis patients under section seventy-eight, or where, after the passage of time, contractual arrangements under section seventy-eight are not continued, the commissioners or trustees may after being licensed under section seventy-one convert such hospital into a chronic disease hospital, or a convalescent or nursing home, or a rest home, or the institution may be discontinued and the property liquidated in accordance with law. The county commissioners or trustees may with the approval of the department adopt such rules and regulations concerning the operation of their institutions as chronic disease hospitals, convalescent or nursing homes, or rest homes as they deem necessary. The county commissioners or trustees shall determine the admission policy of such institutions. The rates to be charged for all general health supplies, care, services and accommodations shall be established by the executive office of health and human services or a governmental unit designated by the executive office; provided, however, that such policy shall be approved by said executive office. The county commissioners or trustees may, however, continue to operate out-patient facilities for tuberculosis as long as such services are deemed by them to be necessary or advisable.