Section 2500-D. New York state poison control network

1. For the purposes
  of reducing the incidence, severity  and  expenditures  for  accidental,
  homicidal,  suicidal  or  environmental  poisoning; educating the public
  concerning the prevention and  treatment  of  hazardous  exposures;  and
  organizing  poison  control  activities  on a regional basis in order to
  avoid duplication and waste, the commissioner shall designate facilities
  within the state as regional poison control centers.
    2.  The  commissioner  shall  consider  the  following   criteria   in
  designating  regional  poison  control  centers:  compliance or expected
  compliance with state poison control standards; location in relation  to
  the  geographical  distribution  of  persons  to be served; the need for
  expanded poison control services  in  the  area  to  be  served  by  the
  provider;  whether  the  facility  is presently providing poison control
  services; and the capacity of such providers to deliver  and  coordinate
  poison  prevention  information  and   poison  treatment  to the general
  public.
    3. The commissioner shall establish minimum standards for  designation
  as a regional poison control center. Such standards shall include:
    a. services to be provided which may include:
    (i)  dissemination  of expert information and consultation services to
  professional personnel on the diagnosis, treatment,  and  management  of
  any suspected or actual poisonings;
    (ii)  dissemination  of information, emergency first aid, and referral
  services to the general public;
    (iii) coordination, assurance and monitoring of poison prevention  and
  medical  management  programs  for  the  professional  community and the
  general public in the region it serves; and
    (iv) collection of uniform  data  and  research  activity  to  enhance
  poison control management;
    b.  staffing  requirements  including  the  number, qualifications and
  training of personnel;
    c. operational requirements including availability of  and  access  to
  services and informational resources, public and professional education,
  and protocols;
    d.  comprehensive  treatment  capabilities and a categorized system of
  treatment facilities for the region;
    e. health professional outreach program; and
    f. regional data collection system including a method of insuring  the
  confidentiality of such data as is otherwise required by law.
    4.  The  department  shall make an annual report to the legislature of
  its findings and recommendations concerning  the  effectiveness,  impact
  and  benefits  derived from the programs as established pursuant to this
  section. Such report shall be submitted on or before the  first  day  of
  February and shall contain evaluations of such programs.
    5. The commissioner shall appoint a committee to advise the department
  on  matters  pertaining  to poison prevention and control. Membership on
  such committee  shall  include  directors  of  regional  poison  control
  centers,  consumers,  industrial representatives, and representatives of
  state and federal agencies involved in poison safety.
    6. A general hospital which is designated as a regional poison control
  center shall submit a budget indicating  the  costs  of  operating  such
  center.  Costs  determined  by  the  commissioner  to  be  necessary and
  reasonable in order to comply with  the  requirements  of  this  section
  shall  be  reimbursable  and  shall  be  allocated  to  costs of general
  hospital emergency services. Such reimbursable costs for a  rate  period
  shall be considered in the calculation of rates of payment for emergency
  services  of  a general hospital for such rate period in accordance with
  subdivision two of section twenty-eight hundred seven  of  this  chapter

  without  application  of  the  maximum  payment  for  the operating cost
  component of rates of payment for  emergency  services.  Notwithstanding
  any  inconsistent  provision  of  law,  reimbursable  costs of a general
  hospital  of  operating  a  regional  poison  control  center determined
  pursuant to this subdivision for annual rate  periods  beginning  on  or
  after  January  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-one  through  December
  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-six  allocable   to   emergency
  services  provided  to persons within such payor categories as specified
  in  paragraphs  (a),  (b)  and  (c)  of  subdivision  one   of   section
  twenty-eight  hundred  seven-c  of  this  chapter for inpatient hospital
  services, excluding governmental agencies,  shall  be  included  in  the
  determination  of  inpatient rates of payment for such payors, excluding
  governmental agencies, and rates of  payment  determined  in  accordance
  with  section  twenty-eight  hundred  seven-c  of  this chapter shall be
  adjusted on a hospital-specific  basis  in  accordance  with  rules  and
  regulations  adopted  by the state hospital review and planning council,
  subject to the approval of the commissioner, to reflect such  costs  and
  maximum   inpatient   charges  of  such  general  hospital  computed  in
  accordance with such section shall be  adjusted  accordingly;  and  cost
  based  rates  of  payment  for emergency services for such payors, other
  than governmental agencies,  shall  be  calculated  excluding  costs  of
  operating a regional poison control center.
    7.  Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary,
  the commissioner is authorized  to make grants, within amounts available
  therefor, to general hospitals designated  as  regional  poison  control
  centers  to  assist  such  general hospitals to meet reasonable costs of
  operation of the regional poison control center.