Sen. Stack drafts legislation for uniform costs to obtain hospital records
The office of state Sen. Brian Stack (D-33rd Dist.) announced on Aug. 17 that Stack has drafted legislation to help give patients access to copies of their hospital treatment records at more uniform, reasonable costs.
Specifically, the bill creates a fee structure in accordance with the Open Public Records Act. Currently, the law says that “reasonable” fees may be charged, which creates differing fees and lacks regulation, because no specific fee amounts have been mandated by law.
“My office was receiving reports of hospitals charging different fees for the same types of information,” said Stack in a released statement. “In some cases, the fees were exorbitant.”
According to a press release, the bill provides that a general hospital may require that requests for a copy of the patient’s treatment record at the hospital be made in writing.
The hospital is not to charge an amount that exceeds $0.75 for the first through the 10th page, $0.50 for the 11th through the 20th page, and $0.25 for all pages over 20.
The hospitals may also charge postage as applicable and an additional fee (which exceeds the rates above) for the reproduction of x-rays or other material that cannot be routinely copied or duplicated on a commercial photocopy machine.
But the additional fees for such items can be no more than the actual cost of reproducing those materials or any fee charged to the hospital to retrieve those materials from another person or entity, as applicable.
Stack said that the proposed fee structure is designed to assist patients who need to gain access to important records regarding their healthcare without encountering excessive fees to obtain that vital information.
St. Augustine’s invites Hudson County community to feast
On Aug. 29, St. Augustine’s Church in Union City will hold their annual feast honoring their patron saint, Saint Augustine, with events from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The parish invites residents from Union City as well as the neighboring communities of West New York, Weehawken, Hoboken, and North Bergen.
There will be music, food, folk dances, games, and prizes. An anniversary mass will also take place at 5:30 p.m., celebrated by Bishop Thomas Donato DD, regional bishop of Hudson County.
A 50/50 raffle will also be held, with all proceeds going toward the renovation of the church.
The events will take place in the church’s parking lot. The church is located at 3900 New York Ave. in Union City.
For more information, contact the parish at (201) 863-0233.
Sheriff announces ‘Click it or Ticket’ results
Hudson County Sheriff Juan M. Perez announced recently that the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office brought in the most seat belt summonses in the state during its “Click it or Ticket” campaign.
Sheriffs wrote 2,133 tickets between May 24 and June 6.
HC arts organizations award over $200K in grants
At its annual meeting on Aug. 17, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts announced the award of $249,973 in grants to Hudson County arts organizations, programs, and projects for fiscal year 2011. The recipients included Park Theatre Performing Arts, Inc. in Union City ($17, 283), Jersey City Museum ($77,211), The Kennedy Dancers ($15,000), the Actors Shakespeare Company at New Jersey City University ($13,642), Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium ($15,928), Schola Cantorum on Hudson ($9,630), and a matching grant to the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs ($101,279).
In total, the council awarded $15,560,823 in grants throughout the state to support nearly 800 arts organizations, programs, projects, and artists in every county across the state. The council receives funding in direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey through a dedicated Hotel/Motel Occupancy fee as well as grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information about the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, please visit www.njartscouncil.org. Further information regarding the arts is found on an interactive web site (http://www.jerseyarts.com) and available on a toll-free hotline (1-800-THE ARTS).