State health department consolidates volunteer health-care immunity rules to include therapists and counselors

Charles Thompson and Craig Smith, attorneys with the Arkansas Department of Health, presented an update to the department’s rules on volunteer health-care immunity, consolidating existing provisions into a single rule and making language updates.

"The substantive portion is in fact, the update, in compliance with Act 968 of 2021," Thompson told the committee. He said the act added therapists, addiction specialists and counselors to the volunteer program and increased continuing education units available for providing volunteer or charitable care from 8 to 32.

Thompson said the department received one public comment pointing out the statutory phrasing "physician assistant" (versus "physician's assistant"); the language was corrected in response to that comment. After questions were invited and none were raised, the chair announced the rule would go out as adopted without objection.

The committee did not record any amendments to the rule in the hearing record and no vote tally was recorded beyond the adoption without objection.