Rhode Island General Laws Title 23. Health and Safety § 23-6.5-4. Definitions

(1) “Healthcare facility” means any healthcare facility licensed by the department of health including any institutional health-service provider, facility, or institution, place, building, agency, or portion thereof, whether a partnership or corporation, whether public or private, whether organized for profit or not, used, operated, or engaged in providing healthcare services, including, but not limited to:  hospitals;  nursing facilities;  rehabilitation centers;  kidney disease treatment centers;  health maintenance organizations;  and facilities providing surgical treatment to patients not requiring hospitalization (surgicenters);  hospice care;  and physician ambulatory-surgery centers and podiatry ambulatory-surgery centers providing surgical treatment.  The term “healthcare facility” also includes organized ambulatory-care facilities that are not part of a hospital but that are organized and operated to provide healthcare services to outpatients, such as:  central-services facilities serving more than one healthcare facility or healthcare provider;  treatment centers;  diagnostic centers;  outpatient clinics;  infirmaries and health centers;  school-based health centers;  and neighborhood health centers.  The term “healthcare facility” also includes a practitioner's (physician, dentist, or other healthcare provider) office or group of practitioners' offices (whether owned and/or operated by a hospital or an affiliate of a hospital or an individual practitioner, alone or as a member of a partnership, professional service corporation, organization, or association).

(2) “Public place” means an enclosed area capable of holding three hundred (300) people or more and to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including, but not limited to:  banks;  bars;  educational facilities;  laundromats;  public or private golf courses; public transportation facilities;  reception areas;  restaurants;  retail food production and marketing establishments;  retail service establishments;  retail stores;  shopping malls;  sports arenas;  government offices;  theaters;  and waiting rooms.  A private residence is not a “public place” unless it is used as a childcare or adult daycare facility.