§ 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\ngeneral hospitals and tuberculosis hospitals or sanatoria. Any municipal\ncorporation maintaining a public general hospital or a hospital or\nsanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis under the provisions of any\ngeneral or special law may establish, equip and maintain, in connection\ntherewith, a department of occupational therapy. For the purpose of this\nsection occupational therapy is defined as any activity, mental or\nphysical, prescribed, guided or supervised for any patient for the\npurpose of contributing to and hastening his recovery from disease or\ninjury. The appropriate municipal authorities may appropriate or provide\nfunds for the establishment, equipment and operation of such\noccupational therapy departments in the same manner as for the\nestablishment, equipment and operation of such public general hospitals,\ntuberculosis hospitals or sanatoria. Such occupational therapy\ndepartment shall be under the general superintendence, management and\ncontrol of the municipal authority, board of managers, or other agency\nhaving general superintendence, management and control of the public\ngeneral hospital, tuberculosis hospital or sanatorium to which it may be\nattached.\n The chief medical officer of such public general hospital,\ntuberculosis hospital or sanatorium shall have authority to employ one\nor more occupational therapists to carry on the work of such department\nunder his supervision. The qualifications of occupational therapists so\nemployed shall be defined by the public health and health planning\ncouncil.\n The chief medical officer of the institution may sell any article made\nor manufactured by any patient in his prescribed curative work carried\non in such occupational therapy department to such patient upon payment\nby such patient to such chief medical officer of a sum not less than the\ncost of the material or materials from which such article was made or\nmanufactured. Such chief medical officer may, in behalf of any patient,\ndispose of any article, made or manufactured by him, at public or\nprivate sale, and from moneys derived from the sale of such article he\nmay pay to the patient such portion thereof that the residue shall at\nleast equal the cost of the material or materials.\n Except in the case of hospitals or sanatoria maintained by counties\nhaving a county purchasing agent, the municipal authority, board of\nmanagers, or other agency having general superintendence, management and\ncontrol of such public general hospital, tuberculosis hospital or\nsanatorium, may place the moneys accruing to the occupational therapy\ndepartment, from the two sources hereinabove mentioned, in a fund, to be\nknown as "The Occupational Therapy Fund. " The moneys in such fund at\nany time shall not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars. All receipts\nin excess of such sum, or all receipts, if such fund be not established,\nshall be paid into the treasury of the municipal corporation operating\nsuch hospital or sanatorium. The chief medical officer of the\ninstitution may directly purchase with moneys from "The Occupational\nTherapy Fund," if such a fund shall have been established, such\nmaterials, in addition to those provided for the operation of such\noccupational therapy department as hereinabove authorized, as are\nnecessary to the proper functioning of such department.\n The chief medical officer may, in his discretion and if he deems such\ncourse to be in the best interest of any patient, temporarily withhold\nany or all moneys earned by such patient and shall give such moneys to\nsuch patient upon discharge.\n