135.11 - DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT.

        135.11  DUTIES OF DEPARTMENT.
         The director of public health shall be the head of the "Iowa
      Department of Public Health", which shall:
         1.  Exercise general supervision over the public health, promote
      public hygiene and sanitation, prevent substance abuse and unless
      otherwise provided, enforce the laws relating to the same.
         2.  Conduct campaigns for the education of the people in hygiene
      and sanitation.
         3.  Issue monthly health bulletins containing fundamental health
      principles and other health data deemed of public interest.
         4.  Make investigations and surveys in respect to the causes of
      disease and epidemics, and the effect of locality, employment, and
      living conditions upon the public health.  For this purpose the
      department may use the services of the experts connected with the
      state hygienic laboratory at the state university of Iowa.
         5.  Establish stations throughout the state for the distribution
      of antitoxins and vaccines to physicians, druggists, and other
      persons, at cost.  All antitoxin and vaccine thus distributed shall
      be labeled "Iowa Department of Public Health".
         6.  Exercise general supervision over the administration and
      enforcement of the sexually transmitted diseases and infections law,
      chapter 139A, subchapter II.
         7.  Exercise sole jurisdiction over the disposal and
      transportation of the dead bodies of human beings and prescribe the
      methods to be used in preparing such bodies for disposal and
      transportation.  However, the department may approve a request for an
      exception to the application of specific embalming and disposition
      rules adopted pursuant to this subsection if such rules would
      otherwise conflict with tenets and practices of a recognized
      religious denomination to which the deceased individual adhered or of
      which denomination the deceased individual was a member.  The
      department shall inform the board of mortuary science of any such
      approved exception which may affect services provided by a funeral
      director licensed pursuant to chapter 156.
         8.  Establish, publish, and enforce rules which require companies,
      corporations, and other entities to obtain a permit from the
      department prior to scattering cremated human remains.
         9.  Exercise general supervision over the administration and
      enforcement of the vital statistics law, chapter 144.
         10.  Enforce the law relative to chapter 146 and "Health-related
      Professions", Title IV, subtitle 3, excluding chapter 155.
         11.  Establish and maintain divisions as are necessary for the
      proper enforcement of the laws administered by the department.
         12.  Establish, publish, and enforce rules not inconsistent with
      law for the enforcement of the provisions of chapters 125 and 155,
      and Title IV, subtitle 2, excluding chapter 146 and for the
      enforcement of the various laws, the administration and supervision
      of which are imposed upon the department.
         13.  Establish standards for, issue permits for, and exercise
      control over the distribution of venereal disease prophylactics
      distributed by methods not under the direct supervision of a
      physician licensed under chapter 148 or a pharmacist licensed under
      chapter 147.  Any person selling, offering for sale, or giving away
      any venereal disease prophylactics in violation of the standards
      established by the department shall be fined not exceeding five
      hundred dollars, and the department shall revoke their permit.
         14.  Administer the statewide public health nursing,
      homemaker-home health aide, and senior health programs by approving
      grants of state funds to the local boards of health and the county
      boards of supervisors and by providing guidelines for the approval of
      the grants and allocation of the state funds.  Program direction,
      evaluation requirements, and formula allocation procedures for each
      of the programs shall be established by the department by rule.
         15.  Administer chapters 125, 136A, 136C, 139A, 142, 142A, 144,
      and 147A.
         16.  Issue an annual report to the governor as provided in section
      7E.3, subsection 4.
         17.  Consult with the office of statewide clinical education
      programs at the university of Iowa college of medicine and annually
      submit a report to the general assembly by January 15 verifying the
      number of physicians in active practice in Iowa by county who are
      engaged in providing obstetrical care.  To the extent data are
      readily available, the report shall include information concerning
      the number of deliveries per year by specialty and county, the age of
      physicians performing deliveries, and the number of current year
      graduates of the university of Iowa college of medicine and the Des
      Moines university -- osteopathic medical center entering into
      residency programs in obstetrics, gynecology, and family practice.
      The report may include additional data relating to access to
      obstetrical services that may be available.
         18.  Administer the statewide maternal and child health program
      and the program for children with disabilities by conducting mobile
      and regional child health specialty clinics and conducting other
      activities to improve the health of low-income women and children and
      to promote the welfare of children with actual or potential
      conditions which may cause disabilities and children with chronic
      illnesses in accordance with the requirements of Tit. V of the
      federal Social Security Act.  The department shall provide technical
      assistance to encourage the coordination and collaboration of state
      agencies in developing outreach centers which provide publicly
      supported services for pregnant women, infants, and children.  The
      department shall also, through cooperation and collaborative
      agreements with the department of human services and the mobile and
      regional child health specialty clinics, establish common intake
      proceedings for maternal and child health services.  The department
      shall work in cooperation with the legislative services agency in
      monitoring the effectiveness of the maternal and child health
      centers, including the provision of transportation for patient
      appointments and the keeping of scheduled appointments.
         19.  Establish, publish, and enforce rules requiring prompt
      reporting of methemoglobinemia, pesticide poisoning, and the
      reportable poisonings and illnesses established pursuant to section
      139A.21.
         20.  Collect and maintain reports of pesticide poisonings and
      other poisonings, illnesses, or injuries caused by selected chemical
      or physical agents, including methemoglobinemia and pesticide and
      fertilizer hypersensitivity; and compile and publish, annually, a
      statewide and county-by-county profile based on the reports.
         21.  Adopt rules which require personnel of a licensed hospice, of
      a homemaker-home health aide provider agency which receives state
      homemaker-home health aide funds, or of an agency which provides
      respite care services and receives funds to complete a minimum of two
      hours of training concerning acquired immune deficiency
      syndrome-related conditions through a program approved by the
      department.  The rules shall require that new employees complete the
      training within six months of initial employment and existing
      employees complete the training on or before January 1, 1989.
         22.  Adopt rules which require all emergency medical services
      personnel, firefighters, and law enforcement personnel to complete a
      minimum of two hours of training concerning acquired immune
      deficiency syndrome-related conditions and the prevention of human
      immunodeficiency virus infection.
         23.  Adopt rules which provide for the testing of a convicted or
      alleged offender for the human immunodeficiency virus pursuant to
      sections 915.40 through 915.43.  The rules shall provide for the
      provision of counseling, health care, and support services to the
      victim.
         24.  Establish ad hoc and advisory committees to the director in
      areas where technical expertise is not otherwise readily available.
      Members may be compensated for their actual and necessary expenses
      incurred in the performance of their duties.  To encourage health
      consumer participation, public members may also receive a per diem as
      specified in section 7E.6 if funds are available and the per diem is
      determined to be appropriate by the director.  Expense moneys paid to
      the members shall be paid from funds appropriated to the department.
      A majority of the members of such a committee constitutes a quorum.
         25.  Establish an abuse education review panel for review and
      approval of mandatory reporter training curricula for those persons
      who work in a position classification that under law makes the
      persons mandatory reporters of child or dependent adult abuse and the
      position classification does not have a mandatory reporter training
      curriculum approved by a licensing or examining board.
         26.  Establish and administer a substance abuse treatment facility
      pursuant to section 135.130.
         27.  Administer annual grants to county boards of health for the
      purpose of conducting programs for the testing of private water
      supply wells, the closing of abandoned private water supply wells,
      and the renovation or rehabilitation of private water supply wells.
      Grants shall be funded through moneys transferred to the department
      from the agriculture management account of the groundwater protection
      fund pursuant to section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph "b",
      subparagraph (3), subparagraph division (b).  The department shall
      adopt rules relating to the awarding of the grants.
         28.  Establish and administer, if sufficient funds are available
      to the department, a program to assess and forecast health workforce
      supply and demand in the state for the purpose of identifying current
      and projected workforce needs.  The program may collect, analyze, and
      report data that furthers the purpose of the program.  The program
      shall not release information that permits identification of
      individual respondents of program surveys.
         29.  In consultation with the advisory committee for perinatal
      guidelines, develop and maintain the statewide perinatal program
      based on the recommendations of the American academy of pediatrics
      and the American college of obstetricians and gynecologists contained
      in the most recent edition of the guidelines for perinatal care, and
      shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 17A to implement those
      recommendations.  Hospitals within the state shall determine whether
      to participate in the statewide perinatal program, and select the
      hospital's level of participation in the program.  A hospital having
      determined to participate in the program shall comply with the
      guidelines appropriate to the level of participation selected by the
      hospital.
         30.  In consultation with the department of corrections, the
      antibiotic resistance task force, and the American federation of
      state, county and municipal employees, develop educational programs
      to increase awareness and utilization of infection control practices
      in institutions listed in section 904.102.  
         Section History: Early Form