Section 72M. The superior court department of the trial court, upon petition of the attorney general or upon petition of the department or any interested party, as hereinafter provided, shall appoint a receiver for any institution subject to licensing under section seventy-one, hereinafter called a facility, provided that the court finds that an emergency exists or that the facility is operating without a license or without a valid, completed application for licensure on file with and awaiting action by the department, or the department has denied, revoked or refused to renew a license, or has initiated license denial, revocation or nonrenewal procedures and the lives, health, safety or welfare of the residents cannot be adequately assured pending the full hearing and decision on the matter.

As used in this section ''emergency'' shall mean a situation or condition which presents imminent danger of death or serious physical harm to patients, including but not limited to imminent or actual abandonment of an occupied facility, and excluding a crisis due solely to a natural disaster beyond the control of the licensee where the licensee is taking appropriate remedial steps. An organized labor activity conducted for union recognition or as a tactic in contract negotiations shall not, of itself, constitute an emergency. Voluntary withdrawal from participation as a provider of services under the medical care and assistance program, established under chapter one hundred and eighteen E, or under the program of health insurance for the aged and disabled established under Title XVIII of the Social Security Act (P.L.—89–97) where such withdrawal was not occasioned by the denial of certification to the facility, shall not, of itself, constitute an emergency.