{"data":{"id":"us-md/md.-code-health-general-19-301","jurisdiction":"us-md","citation":"Md. Code, Health - General § 19–301","heading":"","body":"(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.\n(b) “Accredited hospital” means a hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.\n(c) “Accredited residential treatment center” means a residential treatment center that is accredited by:\n(1) The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations;\n(2) The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities; or\n(3) The Council on Accreditation.\n(d) “Apartment unit” means any space, in a residential building, that is enclosed and self-contained and has a sanitary environment, if the space includes:\n(1) 2 or more rooms;\n(2) A direct exit to a thoroughfare or to a common element leading to a thoroughfare;\n(3) Facilities for living, sleeping, and eating; and\n(4) At least the following facilities for cooking:\n(i) Storage space for food and utensils;\n(ii) A refrigerator;\n(iii) A cook top; and\n(iv) Adequate electrical capacity and outlets for small appliances.\n(e) (1) “Domiciliary care” means services that are provided to aged or disabled individuals in a protective, institutional or home-type environment.\n(2) “Domiciliary care” includes:\n(i) Shelter;\n(ii) Housekeeping services;\n(iii) Board;\n(iv) Facilities and resources for daily living; and\n(v) Personal surveillance or direction in the activities of daily living.\n(f) “Hospital” means an institution that:\n(1) Has a group of at least 5 physicians who are organized as a medical staff for the institution;\n(2) Maintains facilities to provide, under the supervision of the medical staff, diagnostic and treatment services for 2 or more unrelated individuals; and\n(3) Admits or retains the individuals for overnight care.\n(g) “License” means a license issued by the Secretary:\n(1) To operate a hospital in this State;\n(2) To operate a related institution in this State; or\n(3) To operate a residential treatment center in this State.\n(h) “Limited service hospital” means a health care facility that:\n(1) Is licensed as a hospital on or after January 1, 1999;\n(2) Changes the type or scope of health care services offered by eliminating the facility’s capability to admit or retain patients for overnight hospitalization;\n(3) Retains an emergency or urgent care center; and\n(4) Complies with the regulations adopted by the Secretary under § 19-307.1 of this subtitle.\n(i) “Nonaccredited hospital” means a hospital not accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.\n(j) “Nonaccredited residential treatment center” means a residential treatment center that is not accredited by:\n(1) The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations;\n(2) The Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities; or\n(3) The Council on Accreditation.\n(k) “Nursing care” means service for a patient that is:\n(1) Ordered by a physician; and\n(2) Provided or supervised by a registered or practical nurse who is licensed to practice in this State.\n(l) “Nursing facility” means a related institution that provides nursing care for 2 or more unrelated individuals.\n(m) “Person” includes this State or a county or municipal corporation.\n(n) (1) “Personal care” means a service that an individual normally would perform personally, but for which the individual needs help from another because of advanced age, infirmity, or physical or mental limitation.\n(2) “Personal care” includes:\n(i) Help in walking;\n(ii) Help in getting in and out of bed;\n(iii) Help in bathing;\n(iv) Help in dressing;\n(v) Help in feeding; and\n(vi) General supervision and help in daily living.\n(o) (1) “Related institution” means an organized institution, environment, or home that:\n(i) Maintains conditions or facilities and equipment to provide domiciliary, personal, or nursing care for 2 or more unrelated individuals who are dependent on the administrator, operator, or proprietor for nursing care or the subsistence of daily living in a safe, sanitary, and healthful environment; and\n(ii) Admits or retains the individuals for overnight care.\n(2) “Related institution” does not include a nursing facility or visiting nurse service that is conducted only by or for adherents of a bona fide church or religious organization, in accordance with tenets and practices that include reliance on treatment by spiritual means alone for healing.\n(p) “Residential treatment center” means a psychiatric institution that provides campus-based intensive and extensive evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents with severe and chronic emotional disturbances who require a self-contained therapeutic, educational, and recreational program in a residential setting.\n(q) “Unrelated individual” means anyone who is not:\n(1) A child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, sibling, stepparent, stepchild, or spouse of the proprietor; or\n(2) An in-law of any of these individuals.","path":["Article - Health - General"],"source_url":"https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=ghg\u0026section=19-301","current_through":"2026-01-01","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T19:58:48Z","sha256":"ec352f2f60d8727a1fca06fb6859d2ae809b14dbded6426c14dd23729886c022","source_id":"us-md","stale":false,"prev":"us-md/md.-code-health-general-19-227","next":"us-md/md.-code-health-general-19-302"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}