[MR] Answer to Herveus re: Minor Medical Authorization

[Sayyida Halima al-Shafi'i of Raven's Cove]

The state of NC recommends that forms be authorized, and in the state 
statutes online
(§ 32A-34. Statutory form authorization to consent to health care for 
minor._)


            http://www.ncleg.net/statutes/generalstatutes/html/bychapter/chapter_32a.html

offers a sample form that includes notarization and meets NC law 
regarding minor medical care authorizations.  Presumably most facilities 
in NC would be in compliance with NC laws and statutes.  Some of the 
places that require their medical authorizations to be notarized are 4-H 
camps, Band camp, day care providers, NC public schools, etc.  I cannot 
speak to other state's requirements, but in several former professional 
capacities have had to deal with minor medical authorizations and would 
recommend you follow this path.  Most hospitals in NC will not only 
provide you with blank forms, but most have on-staff Notaries who will 
notarize medical documents free of charge (un-notarized forms make risk 
managers nervous!).  There are also many notaries in the SCA who will do 
so as well.

Michael Houghton wrote:

>Howdy!
>
>On Mon, Mar 01, 2004 at 11:03:45AM -0500, Klawiter.Kathryn at epamail.epa.gov wrote:
>  
>
>>Fellow Atlantians,
>>
>>This came through blank last time, and I apologize.  I'm not entirely
>>certain why it chose to do so, so I'm sending it again, with the hope
>>that it will come through better this time.
>>
>>    
>>
>Much better...thanks!
>  
>
>>Herveus wrote:
>>
>>I understand the value of requiring a medical authorization form
>>for minors not accompanied by parent/legal guardian.
>>
>>I do wonder why the requirement for it to be notarized. Was that
>>an Atlantian decision or was that imposed by SCA, Inc. I have not
>>seen anything on the corporate web site about a requirement that
>>they be notarized.
>>
>>yours,
>>Herveus
>>
>>Herveus,
>>
>>You ask a good question.  The guidance we received from SCA Corporate
>>Headquarters indicated that the Minor Medical Authorization form must be
>>notarized if required by the locality.  Upon investigation, we
>>discovered that this meant the locality of the event, or more
>>accurately, the locality of the nearest appropriate health care
>>provider.  This would require the Kingdom to ascertain exactly which
>>locations required notarized forms and which did not, and then make this
>>fact apparent to trolls, autocrats, and attendees.  To make this task
>>harder, the information would constantly be changing, as localities
>>changed their procedures.  As a result, the Kingdom of Atlantia decided
>>to simplify matters for all by requiring the notarized form at all
>>events.  This way, everyone knows that they have a form that is valid
>>and can use the same form for any event in the Kingdom.
>>    
>>
>
>OK. That answers the question. 
>
>It does beg another one. 
>
>Are there any localities known to demand that the form be notarized?
>I realize that a thorough canvass of the kingdom would be non-trivial,
>and I'm not trying to suggest that there was any negligence in not
>doing so. I am, however, curious to know if any specific need was
>identified, or if this was done primarily for simplicity.
>  
>
>>However, I would point out a significant difference between waivers and
>>Minor Medical Authorizations that is not well-understood - unlike
>>waivers, Minor Medical Authorizations can be specified to last any
>>amount of time, and are not handed in to the event staff.  In other
>>words, if an adult (not a parent or guardian) is going to take a minor
>>to multiple events over multiple years, then he or she only ever needs
>>one notarized Minor Medical Authorization form, and can use that one
>>form over and over again.  Although this doesn't negate the difficulty
>>of finding a notary to get the initial form signed, it does mean that it
>>can be a one-time difficulty.
>>
>>    
>>
>Yep. I realize that, and I think most expositions I have heard tried to
>point this out clearly, but thank you for repeating it.
>
>yours,
>Herveus
>  
>