Privacy Practices

CSH complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule which requires that a comprehensive “Notice of Privacy Practices” be given to Patients and/or their AR at the time they are admitted to the Hospital or as soon as is reasonably practical after admission. CSH has adopted the uniform Notice of Privacy Practices form developed for use by all facilities of the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS.) Patients are notified at admission and periodically thereafter of their rights, including rights to privacy, confidentiality, access to and correction of records, and the opportunity to file complaints.

  • Notice of Privacy Practices – PDF

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act – (FOIA)

Rights & Responsibilities

The Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), located at § 2.2-3700 et. seq. of the Code of Virginia, guarantees citizens of the Commonwealth and representatives of the media access to public records held by public bodies, public officials, and public employees.

A public record is any writing or recording — regardless of whether it is a paper record, an electronic file, an audio or video recording, or any other format — that is prepared or owned by, or in the possession of a public body or its officers, employees or agents in the transaction of public business. All public records are presumed to be open, and may only be withheld if a specific, statutory exemption applies.

The policy of FOIA states that the purpose of FOIA is to promote an increased awareness by all persons of governmental activities. In furthering this policy, FOIA requires that the law be interpreted liberally, in favor of access, and that any exemption allowing public records to be withheld must be interpreted narrowly.

Your FOIA Rights

  • – You have the right to request to inspect receive copies of public records, or both.
  • – You have the right to request that any charges for the requested records be estimated in advance.
  • – If you believe that your FOIA rights have been violated, you may file a petition in district or circuit court to compel compliance with FOIA.

Making a Request for records from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS)

  • – You may request records by U.S. Mail, fax, e-mail, in person, or over the phone. FOIA does not require that your request be in writing. From a practical perspective, it may be helpful to both you and the person receiving your request to put your request in writing to create a record of your request and also give us a clear statement of your request.
  • – Your request must identify the records you are seeking with “reasonable specificity.” This is a common-sense standard. It does not refer to or limit the volume or number of records that you are requesting; instead, it requires that you be specific enough so that we can identify and locate the records that you are seeking.

– Your rquest must ask for records or documents. FOIA gives you a right to inspect or copy records; it does not apply to a situation where you are asking general questions about the work of the Facility.

– You may choose to receive electronic records in any format used by the Facility in the regular course of business.

– Please cooperate with any efforts to clarify the type of records that you are seeking, or to attempt to reach a reasonable agreement about a response to a large request. Making a FOIA request is not an adversarial process, but we may need to discuss your request wih you to ensure that we understand what records you are seeking.

Responsibilities in Responding to Your Request

  • – The Facility must respond to your request within five working days of receiving it. “Day One” is considered the day after your request is received. The five-day period does not include weekends or holidays.
  • – If it is practically impossible for the Facility to respond to your request within the five-day period, we must state this in writing, explaining the conditions that make the response impossible. This will allow us seven additional working days to respond to your request, giving us a total of 12 working days to respond to your request.

DBHDS AUTHORIZATION FOR USE/DISCLOSURE OF PROTECTED HEALTH INFORMATION – pdf

Please contact Kenneth Pritchett at Kenneth.Pritchett@dbhds.virginia.gov or you can call 1-804-524-7319 or Fax at 804-524-7323

Or you can mail at:
Central State Hospital
ATTN: H.I.M Department
P.O. Box 4030
Petersburg, VA 23803

Commonly used exemptions

  • The Code of Virginia allows any public body to withhold certain records from public disclosure, including:
    • – Personal Records (§ 2.2-3705.1 (1) of the Code of Virginia)
    • – Records subject to attorney-client privilege (§ 2.2-3705.1 (2)) or attorney work product (§ 2.2-3705.1 (3))

For more information, please visit: DBHDS FOIA Page.

Please contact Ann Bailey at Ann.Bailey@dbhds.virginia.gov.

Americans with Disabilities (ADA)

Information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act with the Topics of Interest on ADA.gov.

For more information contact our ADA Compliance Officer –
Ann Bailey, MBA, MHA
804-524-7694
Ann.Bailey@dbhds.virginia.gov