Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 40, § 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.