Hospitals; Psychiatric Emergency Departments - Hampton Physician Waiver

Virginia Legislative Events

Published July 1st, 2026

Detected April 8th, 2026

Summary

Virginia enacted SB738 permitting hospitals with psychiatric emergency departments in the City of Hampton to operate without a physician on duty when specific conditions are satisfied, including written agreements with emergency medical service providers and immediate adjacency to a non-psychiatric emergency department. Affected psychiatric emergency departments must submit annual treatment data to the General Assembly by November 1, beginning in 2026.

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What changed

Virginia SB738 creates a statutory exception allowing psychiatric emergency departments in the City of Hampton to operate without a physician on duty when conditions are met, including written EMS agreements and physical proximity to a non-psychiatric emergency department. The bill also establishes annual reporting requirements for treatment data submitted to the General Assembly.

Hospitals operating or planning psychiatric emergency departments in Hampton should assess whether they satisfy the statutory conditions, formalize EMS provider agreements, and establish data collection systems for annual reporting. The law takes effect July 1, 2026, giving affected facilities approximately three months to implement compliance measures.

What to do next

Review SB738 requirements and determine eligibility for physician waiver
Establish written agreements with EMS providers if not already in place
Implement annual treatment data reporting to Virginia General Assembly by November 1

Source document (simplified)

ChangeBridge / Virginia / SB738 Signed by Governor SB738 Senate Bill Signed by Governor 2026-04-06

Hospitals; emergency department physicians.

Hospitals; psychiatric emergency departments. Allows hospitals with psychiatric emergency departments located in the City of Hampton to operate without a physician on duty when certain conditions are met, including having written agreements in place with emergency medical service providers and being immediately adjacent to a non-psychiatric emergency department. The bill requires such psychiatric emergency departments to submit treatment data to the General Assembly on an annual basis by November 1. This bill is identical to HB 1318.

Bill Details

State Virginia

Session 2026 Regular Regular Session

Chamber Senate

Official Source lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB738

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Action History

2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 297 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-04-06 Approved by Governor-Chapter 297 (effective 7/1/2026) 2026-03-10 Governor's Action Deadline 11:59 p.m., April 13, 2026 2026-03-10 S Enrolled Bill communicated to Governor on March 10, 2026 2026-03-04 S Signed by President 2026-03-04 H Signed by Speaker 2026-03-04 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738) 2026-03-04 S Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB738ER) 2026-03-04 S Enrolled 2026-02-27 H Passed House (92-Y 4-N 0-A) 2026-02-27 H Read third time 2026-02-26 H Read second time 2026-02-24 H Reported from Health and Human Services (20-Y 2-N) 2026-02-24 H Referred to Committee on Health and Human Services 2026-02-24 H Read first time 2026-02-24 H Placed on Calendar 2026-02-22 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738) 2026-02-17 S Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-16 S Engrossed by Senate - committee substitute (Voice Vote) 2026-02-16 S Committee substitute agreed to (Voice Vote) 2026-02-16 S Read second time 2026-02-13 S Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote) 2026-02-13 S Constitutional reading dispensed Block Vote (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N 0-A) 2026-02-13 S Rules suspended 2026-02-12 S Committee substitute printed 26106705D-S1 2026-02-12 S Senate committee offered 2026-02-12 S Reported from Education and Health with substitute (14-Y 0-N 1-A) 2026-02-06 S Senate subcommittee offered 2026-02-06 S Assigned Education sub: Health Professions 2026-01-22 S Fiscal Impact Statement from Department of Planning and Budget (SB738) 2026-01-16 S Referred to Committee on Education and Health 2026-01-16 S Presented and ordered printed 26104945D

Votes

2026-02-12 Reported from Education and Health with substitute (14-Y 0-N 1-A) Yea: 14 Nay: 0 2026-02-13 Constitutional reading dispensed (on 1st reading) (36-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 36 Nay: 0 2026-02-17 Read third time and passed Senate (40-Y 0-N 0-A) Yea: 40 Nay: 0 2026-02-24 Reported from Health and Human Services (20-Y 2-N) Yea: 20 Nay: 2 2026-02-27 Passed House (92-Y 4-N 0-A) Yea: 92 Nay: 4