Rhode Island General Laws
Chapter 23-17 - Licensing of Healthcare Facilities
Section 23-17-14.4. - Procedures for review.

§ 23-17-14.4. Procedures for review.
(a) Within ten (10) working days of receipt, in acceptable form, of an application for an initial license or a license in connection with a change in the owner, operator, or lessee of any existing health care facility, the licensing agency will notify and afford the public an opportunity to comment on the application.
(b) The recommendations of the health services council and the decision of the licensing agency will be rendered within ninety (90) days of acceptance of the application for license.
(c) The licensing agency shall promulgate in rules and regulations procedures and criteria for expedited review of licensure applications. The criteria for expedited review consideration shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) that the licensure application is solely for initial licensure; (2) that the legal entity seeking a license currently is the licensee for one or more Rhode Island licensed health care facilities whose records of compliance are deemed by the licensing agency to demonstrate the legal entity’s ability and commitment to provide quality health care services; and (3) that the licensure application demonstrates complete and satisfactory compliance with review criteria in § 23-17-14.3. The licensing agency shall exercise its discretion in granting expedited review of license applications and a decision by the licensing agency not to process an application on an expedited review basis shall be final and shall not be subject to appeal.
(d) The decision of the licensing agency shall be based upon the findings and recommendations of the health services council unless the licensing agency shall afford written justification for variance from these findings and recommendations.
(e) All applications reviewed by the licensing agency and all written materials pertinent to licensing agency review, including minutes of all health services council meetings, shall be accessible to the public upon request.
(f) Any person holding a valid certificate of need issued pursuant to chapter 15 of this title, shall be exempt from the requirements of § 23-17-14.3 or 23-17-14.4 of this chapter for initial facility licensure.
(g) Any person holding a valid license for an outpatient rehabilitation center intended to be operational for less than twelve (12) months and so indicated upon its application shall surrender its license upon cessation of patient care operations for that operational season. Within a period not to exceed twelve (12) months from the surrender, the person may apply for a new license for the identical activities and premises authorized by the previous but surrendered license, and shall be exempt from the requirements of § 23-17-14.3 or 23-17-14.4 for initial facility licensure.
History of Section.P.L. 1984, ch. 134, § 2; P.L. 1996, ch. 433, § 3; P.L. 1999, ch. 336, § 1.

Structure Rhode Island General Laws

Rhode Island General Laws

Title 23 - Health and Safety

Chapter 23-17 - Licensing of Healthcare Facilities

Section 23-17-1. - Short title.

Section 23-17-2. - Definitions.

Section 23-17-3. - Purpose of provisions.

Section 23-17-4. - License required for healthcare facility operation.

Section 23-17-4.1. - Rules and regulations for school-based health centers.

Section 23-17-5. - Application for license.

Section 23-17-5.1. - Additional information required of nursing facility applicants for initial licensure or change of ownership.

Section 23-17-5.2. - Additional information required for license renewal of all nursing facilities.

Section 23-17-6. - Issuance of license — Posting — Transfer — Conditions.

Section 23-17-7. - Expiration and renewal of license.

Section 23-17-8. - Denial, suspension, or revocation of license.

Section 23-17-8.1. - Curtailment of activities.

Section 23-17-9. - Judicial review of license action.

Section 23-17-10. - Regulations, inspections, and investigations — Certain hospitals required to provide on-premises coverage by physician — Uniform reports — Data systems.

Section 23-17-10.1. - Financial regulation of health maintenance organizations.

Section 23-17-10.2. - Full financial disclosure by hospitals and freestanding emergency-care facilities.

Section 23-17-10.3. - Special care unit disclosure by facilities.

Section 23-17-10.4. - Rehabilitation special care unit and sub-acute special care unit disclosure by facilities.

Section 23-17-10.5. - Medical director and attending physician file.

Section 23-17-10.6. - Nursing facility wandering hazard prevention plans.

Section 23-17-10.7. - Nursing facility assessment and disclosure for residents on probation or parole.

Section 23-17-11. - Abortion and sterilization — Protection for nonparticipation — Procedure.

Section 23-17-12. - Inspections — Nursing facilities.

Section 23-17-12.1. - Scope of inspections.

Section 23-17-12.2. - Time for correction of defects.

Section 23-17-12.3. - Penalty for violation of §§ 23-17-12 — 23-17-12.2.

Section 23-17-12.4. - Enforcement of §§ 23-17-12 — 23-17-12.2.

Section 23-17-12.5. - Complaints — Nursing homes.

Section 23-17-12.6. - Independent quality monitor, quality consultant and temporary manager.

Section 23-17-12.7. - Adverse change in financial condition.

Section 23-17-12.8. - Posting of nursing staff levels in nursing facilities.

Section 23-17-12.9. - Resident and family notification.

Section 23-17-12.10. - Quality predictive modeling — Established.

Section 23-17-12.11. - Nursing facility quality improvement program.

Section 23-17-13. - Repealed.

Section 23-17-13.1. - Health services council.

Section 23-17-14. - Functions of health services council.

Section 23-17-14.1. - Immunity for council members.

Section 23-17-14.2. - Compensation.

Section 23-17-14.3. - Review criteria.

Section 23-17-14.4. - Procedures for review.

Section 23-17-15. - Information confidential.

Section 23-17-15.1. - Reports public.

Section 23-17-16. - Annual report of activities.

Section 23-17-17. - Penalty for operation of unlicensed health care facility.

Section 23-17-18. - Obtaining treatment or services under false pretenses.

Section 23-17-19. - Injunction to restrain operation without license.

Section 23-17-19.1. - Rights of patients.

Section 23-17-19.2. - Posting of law.

Section 23-17-19.3. - Patients’ visitation rights.

Section 23-17-20. - Inapplicability.

Section 23-17-21. - Power of enforcement.

Section 23-17-22. - Severability.

Section 23-17-23. - Hospital disciplinary powers.

Section 23-17-24. - Internal risk management program.

Section 23-17-25. - Privileges and immunities for peer review activities.

Section 23-17-26. - Emergency health care.

Section 23-17-27. - Disclosure of nonparticipation in hospital service plan.

Section 23-17-28. - Health care cost containment.

Section 23-17-29. - Applicability.

Section 23-17-30. - Blood or tissue transfer services.

Section 23-17-31. - Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing — Hospitals.

Section 23-17-31.1. - Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing — Facilities for drug users.

Section 23-17-32. - Mammograms — Quality assurance standards.

Section 23-17-33. - Pap smears — Quality assurance standards.

Section 23-17-34. - Criminal records review — Nursing facilities — Home nursing-care providers and home-care providers.

Section 23-17-35. - Prior criminal records checks.

Section 23-17-36. - Rules and regulations.

Section 23-17-37. - Disqualifying information.

Section 23-17-38. - Establishment of fees.

Section 23-17-38.1. - Hospitals — Licensing fee.

Section 23-17-39. - Immunity from liability.

Section 23-17-40. - Hospital and freestanding emergency-care facility events reporting.

Section 23-17-41. - Employer/employee relationships.

Section 23-17-42. - Home nursing care providers — Uncompensated care provisions.

Section 23-17-43. - Charity care requirements.

Section 23-17-44. - Moratorium on new initial nursing-facility licensed beds and on increases to the licensed capacity of existing nursing-facility licenses.

Section 23-17-45. - Quality standards for volume related tertiary services.

Section 23-17-46. - Financial interest disclosure.

Section 23-17-47. - Identification badges.

Section 23-17-48. - Labor disputes/actions.

Section 23-17-49. - Surgical procedures — General provisions.

Section 23-17-49.1. - Workplace and patient safety — Evacuation of surgical smoke plume required in operating rooms.

Section 23-17-50. - Physician ambulatory-surgery center — Accreditation, survey, complaint investigation, and exemptions.

Section 23-17-51. - Magnetic resonance imaging — Quality assurance standards.

Section 23-17-52. - Department of health concern line.

Section 23-17-53. - Physician contracts.

Section 23-17-54. - Provisions of interpreter services.

Section 23-17-55. - Severability.

Section 23-17-56. - School based health centers — Special requirements and exceptions.

Section 23-17-57. - Podiatry ambulatory-surgery center — Accreditation, survey, complaint investigation, and exemptions.

Section 23-17-58. - Documentation of pre-hospital and pre-freestanding emergency-care facility exposure of emergency medical services workers.

Section 23-17-59. - Safe patient handling.

Section 23-17-60. - Compilation and publication of the charges for common hospital procedures.

Section 23-17-61. - Written estimates for hospital medical services.

Section 23-17-62. - Criminal records review — Long-term care hospital.

Section 23-17-63. - Patient safety — Circulating nurses required in operating rooms.

Section 23-17-64. - Influenza immunization.

Section 23-17-65. - Transparency of ownership in healthcare facilities.