§2115.33. Emergency department; licensure; prohibitions
A. Each emergency department operating in Louisiana shall be licensed by the
department as a part of a hospital under the Hospital Licensing Law, R.S. 40:2100 et seq.,
either as a part of the hospital's main campus or as a separate off-site campus of an existing
licensed hospital.
B. Freestanding emergency departments shall be prohibited in Louisiana.
C. The department shall not issue a license to any off-site campus emergency
department within the primary service area of a rural hospital. For purposes of this Section,
"primary service area" for a rural hospital created or ratified pursuant to laws providing for
hospital service districts, R.S. 46:1051 et seq., shall be coterminous with the boundaries of
its hospital service district. For all other rural hospitals, the primary service area shall have
the same meaning as set forth in R.S. 37:1307(6). However, the prohibition in this
Subsection shall not apply to a nonprofit licensed hospital that complies with the provisions
of Subsection A of this Section and that has obtained a building or construction permit for
a new off-site campus or hospital prior to April 1, 2019.
Acts 2019, No. 438, §1.