§ 135-b. Departments of occupational therapy in connection with public
general hospitals and tuberculosis hospitals or sanatoria. Any municipal
corporation maintaining a public general hospital or a hospital or
sanatorium for the treatment of tuberculosis under the provisions of any
general or special law may establish, equip and maintain, in connection
therewith, a department of occupational therapy. For the purpose of this
section occupational therapy is defined as any activity, mental or
physical, prescribed, guided or supervised for any patient for the
purpose of contributing to and hastening his recovery from disease or
injury. The appropriate municipal authorities may appropriate or provide
funds for the establishment, equipment and operation of such
occupational therapy departments in the same manner as for the
establishment, equipment and operation of such public general hospitals,
tuberculosis hospitals or sanatoria. Such occupational therapy
department shall be under the general superintendence, management and
control of the municipal authority, board of managers, or other agency
having general superintendence, management and control of the public
general hospital, tuberculosis hospital or sanatorium to which it may be
attached.

The chief medical officer of such public general hospital,
tuberculosis hospital or sanatorium shall have authority to employ one
or more occupational therapists to carry on the work of such department
under his supervision. The qualifications of occupational therapists so
employed shall be defined by the public health and health planning
council.

The chief medical officer of the institution may sell any article made
or manufactured by any patient in his prescribed curative work carried
on in such occupational therapy department to such patient upon payment
by such patient to such chief medical officer of a sum not less than the
cost of the material or materials from which such article was made or
manufactured. Such chief medical officer may, in behalf of any patient,
dispose of any article, made or manufactured by him, at public or
private sale, and from moneys derived from the sale of such article he
may pay to the patient such portion thereof that the residue shall at
least equal the cost of the material or materials.

Except in the case of hospitals or sanatoria maintained by counties
having a county purchasing agent, the municipal authority, board of
managers, or other agency having general superintendence, management and
control of such public general hospital, tuberculosis hospital or
sanatorium, may place the moneys accruing to the occupational therapy
department, from the two sources hereinabove mentioned, in a fund, to be
known as "The Occupational Therapy Fund. " The moneys in such fund at
any time shall not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars. All receipts
in excess of such sum, or all receipts, if such fund be not established,
shall be paid into the treasury of the municipal corporation operating
such hospital or sanatorium. The chief medical officer of the
institution may directly purchase with moneys from "The Occupational
Therapy Fund," if such a fund shall have been established, such
materials, in addition to those provided for the operation of such
occupational therapy department as hereinabove authorized, as are
necessary to the proper functioning of such department.

The chief medical officer may, in his discretion and if he deems such
course to be in the best interest of any patient, temporarily withhold
any or all moneys earned by such patient and shall give such moneys to
such patient upon discharge.