2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 6 - Public Health and Safety › 135-B - Departments of Occupational Therapy in Connection With Public General Hospitals and Tuberculosis Hospitals or Sanatoria.

§ 135-b. Departments of occupational therapy in connection with public
  general hospitals and tuberculosis hospitals or sanatoria. Any municipal
  corporation  maintaining  a  public  general  hospital  or a hospital or
  sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis under the provisions of any
  general or special law may establish, equip and maintain, in  connection
  therewith, a department of occupational therapy. For the purpose of this
  section  occupational  therapy  is  defined  as  any activity, mental or
  physical, prescribed, guided or  supervised  for  any  patient  for  the
  purpose  of  contributing  to and hastening his recovery from disease or
  injury. The appropriate municipal authorities may appropriate or provide
  funds  for  the  establishment,  equipment   and   operation   of   such
  occupational   therapy  departments  in  the  same  manner  as  for  the
  establishment, equipment and operation of such public general hospitals,
  tuberculosis  hospitals  or   sanatoria.   Such   occupational   therapy
  department  shall  be  under the general superintendence, management and
  control of the municipal authority, board of managers, or  other  agency
  having  general  superintendence,  management  and control of the public
  general hospital, tuberculosis hospital or sanatorium to which it may be
  attached.
The  chief  medical  officer  of   such   public   general   hospital,
  tuberculosis  hospital  or sanatorium shall have authority to employ one
  or more occupational therapists to carry on the work of such  department
  under  his supervision. The qualifications of occupational therapists so
  employed shall be defined by  the  public  health  and  health  planning
  council.
The chief medical officer of the institution may sell any article made
  or  manufactured  by any patient in his prescribed curative work carried
  on in such occupational therapy department to such patient upon  payment
  by such patient to such chief medical officer of a sum not less than the
  cost  of  the  material or materials from which such article was made or
  manufactured. Such chief medical officer may, in behalf of any  patient,
  dispose  of  any  article,  made  or  manufactured  by him, at public or
  private sale, and from moneys derived from the sale of such  article  he
  may  pay  to  the patient such portion thereof that the residue shall at
  least equal the cost of the material or materials.
Except in the case of hospitals or sanatoria  maintained  by  counties
  having  a  county  purchasing  agent,  the municipal authority, board of
  managers, or other agency having general superintendence, management and
  control of  such  public  general  hospital,  tuberculosis  hospital  or
  sanatorium,  may  place  the moneys accruing to the occupational therapy
  department, from the two sources hereinabove mentioned, in a fund, to be
  known as "The Occupational Therapy Fund. " The moneys in  such  fund  at
  any  time shall not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars. All receipts
  in excess of such sum, or all receipts, if such fund be not established,
  shall be paid into the treasury of the municipal  corporation  operating
  such   hospital   or  sanatorium.  The  chief  medical  officer  of  the
  institution may directly purchase with  moneys  from  "The  Occupational
  Therapy  Fund,"  if  such  a  fund  shall  have  been  established, such
  materials, in addition to those  provided  for  the  operation  of  such
  occupational  therapy  department  as  hereinabove  authorized,  as  are
  necessary to the proper functioning of such department.
The chief medical officer may, in his discretion and if he deems  such
  course  to  be in the best interest of any patient, temporarily withhold
  any or all moneys earned by such patient and shall give such  moneys  to
  such patient upon discharge.