3712.05 Unlicensed hospice care programs. - Ohio Statutes

3712.05 Unlicensed hospice care programs.

(A) No person or public agency, other than a person or public agency licensed pursuant to section 3712.04 of the Revised Code, shall hold itself out as providing a hospice care program, or provide a hospice care program, or use the term “hospice” or any term containing “hospice” to describe or refer to a health program, facility, or agency.

A hospital, home providing nursing care, or home health agency that provides services under contract with a person or public agency providing a hospice care program licensed under section 3712.04 of the Revised Code or a terminal care facility for the homeless that has entered into an agreement under section 3712.07 of the Revised Code shall not be considered as providing a hospice care program in violation of this division.

This division does not apply to the activities of regional, state, or national nonprofit organizations of which providers of hospice care programs, individuals interested in hospice care programs, or both, are members and that do not provide or represent that they provide hospice care programs.

As used in this division, “person” does not include a member of an interdisciplinary team, as defined in section 3712.01 of the Revised Code, or any individual who is employed by a person or public agency licensed under section 3712.04 of the Revised Code.

(B) The department of health shall petition the court of common pleas of any county in which a person or public agency, without a license granted under section 3712.04 of the Revised Code, is holding itself out as providing a hospice care program, is providing a hospice care program, or is representing a health program, facility, or agency as a hospice care program, for an order enjoining that person or public agency from conducting those activities without a license. The court has jurisdiction to grant injunctive relief upon a showing that the respondent named in the petition is conducting those activities without a license.

Any person or public agency may request the department to petition the court for injunctive relief under this division, and the department shall do so if it determines that the person or public agency named in the request is violating division (A) of this section.

Effective Date: 04-16-1993