(a) A hospital shall provide each patient or, if applicable, the patient’s legal guardian with at least one opportunity to designate at least one caregiver no later than 24 hours after the patient’s entry into a hospital and prior to the patient’s discharge or transfer to another facility.
(b) If the patient is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated upon entry into a hospital, the hospital shall provide the patient or the patient’s legal guardian with an opportunity to designate a caregiver not later than 24 hours following the patient’s recovery of consciousness or capacity.
(c) If the patient or the patient’s legal guardian declines to designate a caregiver, the hospital shall promptly document the legal guardian’s waiver of caregiver designation in the patient’s medical record.
(d) If the patient or the patient’s legal guardian designates a caregiver, the hospital shall promptly request the written consent of the patient or the patient’s legal guardian to release medical information to the patient’s caregiver pursuant to the hospital’s established procedures for releasing personal health information and in compliance with all federal and Virgin Islands laws.
(e) If the patient or the patient’s legal guardian declines to consent to release medical information to the patient’s caregiver, the hospital is not required to provide the notice to the caregiver required by § 255 or provide information contained in the patient’s discharge plan as provided in § 256.
(f) The hospital shall record in the patient’s medical record, the patient’s designated caregiver’s name, telephone number, address, and the relationship of the caregiver to the patient.
(g) A patient may elect to change the designated caregiver at any time and the hospital shall record the change of caregiver in the patient’s medical record not later than 24 hours after the patient notifies the hospital of the change.
(h) A designation of a caregiver by the patient or the patient’s legal guardian does not obligate the designated caregiver to accept the responsibility.
(i) This section may not be construed to require a patient or a patient’s legal guardian to designate any individual as a caregiver.