| Chapter 018 |
| 2018 -- H 7082 Enacted 06/04/2018 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - LICENSING OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES |
| Introduced By: Representatives McNamara, Morin, Bennett, McLaughlin, and Messier |
| Date Introduced: January 10, 2018 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Chapter 23-17 of the General Laws entitled "Licensing of Health-Care |
| Facilities" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: |
| 23-17-49.1. Workplace and patient safety - evacuation of surgical smoke plume |
| required in operating rooms. |
| (a) As used in this section, the following definitions shall apply: |
| (1) "Smoke-evacuation system" means smoke evacuators, laser plume evacuators, or |
| local exhaust ventilators that capture and neutralize plume at the site of origin and before plume |
| can make ocular contact or contact with the respiratory tract of employees. |
| (2) "Surgical smoke" means the by-product of use of energy-generating devices, |
| including surgical plume, smoke plume, bio-aerosols, laser-generated airborne contaminants, and |
| lung-damaging dust. |
| (b) In order to protect patient and health workers from the hazards of surgical smoke, |
| each hospital and freestanding ambulatory surgical facility licensed in the state of Rhode Island |
| pursuant to this chapter shall adopt policies to ensure the elimination of surgical smoke by use of |
| a smoke-evacuation system for each procedure that generates surgical smoke from the use of |
| energy-based devices such as, but not limited to, electrosurgery and lasers. |
| (c) Each hospital and freestanding ambulatory surgical center shall report to the |
| department of health within ninety days (90) of the effective date of this act that policies pursuant |
| to this section have been adopted. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2019. |
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| LC003190 |
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