2023 New York Laws › PBH - Public Health › Article 2 - The Department of Health › Title 1 - Officers and Employees › 207 - Health Care and Wellness Education and Outreach Program.

§  207.  Health  care  and wellness education and outreach program. 1.
There is hereby created  within  the  department  the  health  care  and
wellness  education  and  outreach  program.  The department may conduct
education and outreach  programs  for  consumers,  patients,  educators,
including  but not limited to elementary and secondary school educators,
and health care providers  relating  to  any  health  care  matters  the
commissioner deems appropriate and:
(a) Various health conditions, diseases and health care procedures and
treatment  options,  including  but  not  limited  to  those for breast,
cervical, colorectal, prostate, testicular, skin,  and  ovarian  cancer,
shaken   baby   syndrome,  reflex  sympathetic  dystrophy  syndrome  and
post-polio sequelae.
(b) Recommended preventative  and  wellness  practices  and  services,
including   evidence  based  age  and  gender  appropriate  testing  and
screening exams and immunization schedules.
(c) Lymphedema and lymphatic disease,  an  abnormal  swelling  of  the
extremities  including  the  causes,  symptoms  of  primary  lymphedema,
secondary lymphedema and lymphatic disease, prevention, early diagnosis,
options for treatment and therapy, long-term chronic  care  issues,  the
value of early detection, possible options for treatment including their
benefits   and   risks,   and   other   relevant   information  and  the
recommendation that hospitals treating breast cancer patients  implement
a  lymphedema  alert  program  by placing a bright pink wristband on the
patient's affected arm.  Links  to  national  lymphedema  and  lymphatic
disease  organizations  shall  be  provided as part of the informational
summary and electronically through the department's websites.
(d) The  need  for  and  importance  of  organ  and  tissue  donation,
including  living donation, including information about being registered
as an organ and tissue donor  and  executing  documents  of  gift  under
article forty-three of this chapter; and information to increase patient
understanding   about   the   medical   option  of  transplant  and  its
desirability. The department shall consult with the  transplant  council
on  the  production  of  any  such  information  and  ensure  that  such
information  is  culturally  and  linguistically  appropriate  for   all
recipients.
(e) The commissioner shall establish a statewide advance care planning
campaign to:
(i)  promote public awareness of hospice and palliative care services;
and palliative care options for patients  with  a  terminal  illness  or
condition;
(ii)  inform the public of the importance of advance care planning and
the  individual's  right  to  direct  and  participate  in  health  care
decisions affecting the individual;
(iii)  educate  individuals  on  the  tools  available to ensure their
health care decisions are honored; and
(iv) the need and importance for consumers and  patients  to  have  an
advance  directive,  particularly  a health care proxy, and the need and
importance for health care  providers  to  play  a  leadership  role  in
discussing  end-of-life care preferences and values with patients and to
provide patients with health care proxy forms.
(f) Uterine fibroids, an abnormal growth that occurs  in  the  uterus,
including  the  causes  and  symptoms  of uterine fibroids, the value of
early detection, possible options for treatment including their benefits
and risks, information on the elevated risk for minority women and other
relevant information.
(g)  Improving   birth   outcomes,   including   the   importance   of
preconceptional  care,  early  prenatal  care,  considerations of health
risks during pregnancy, considerations of benefits and  risks  of  labor

and delivery options including, but not limited to, vaginal and cesarean
section  delivery, elective or repeat cesarean sections, and appropriate
use of drugs during delivery. There shall also be education and outreach
concerning  spina bifida, a permanently disabling birth defect occurring
at the end of the first month of pregnancy which involves the incomplete
development of the spinal cord or its coverings, and the  importance  of
encouraging  all  women  in  their child-bearing years to increase their
folic acid intake in order to reduce the incidence of spina bifida.
(i) About the short term and long term adverse health risks to  adults
and   children   who   become  overweight,  obese  or  underweight.  The
information  shall  include,  but  need  not  be  limited  to  providing
citations  to  the  department's  website, as well as any other websites
providing information on the subject.
* (j) Maternal  depression,  including  information  about  education,
screening, referral services, and possible options for treatment.
* NB There are 2 par (j)'s
* (j)  The  eating disorders awareness and prevention program shall be
designed to promote the awareness  of  eating  disorders  and  available
services,  as well as to prevent and reduce the incidence and prevalence
of eating disorders, especially among children and adolescents.
* NB There are 2 par (j)'s
* (k) Donating umbilical cord blood to a public cord blood bank.
* NB There are 3 par (k)'s
* (k) The availability of  individual,  family  and  group  counseling
programs,  education programs, and advocacy services provided at no cost
by governmental agencies and not-for-profit organizations for victims of
any sexual offense which constitutes a crime and for  victims  of  child
pornography promotion or possession.
* NB There are 3 par (k)'s
* (k)   The   physical,   sexual  and  psychological  consequences  of
undergoing  female  genital  mutilation,  including  the   practice   of
"vacation cutting" whereby girls are sent out of state or the country to
undergo female genital mutilation, typically during school vacations.
* NB There are 3 par (k)'s
(l)  The  dangers  of  women's  cancers, including ways to prevent and
severity of such diseases.  For  purposes  of  this  paragraph,  women's
cancers  shall  mean  and  include:  cervical,  endometrial, gestational
trophoblastic tumor, ovarian, uterine sarcoma, vaginal, and vulvar.
* (m) A Lyme disease and tick-borne infection awareness and prevention
program designed to promote the awareness and prevention methods against
Lyme disease and tick-borne infections. Such information  shall  include
but  not  be  limited to guidelines and methods of prevention, including
the safe use of recommended insect repellents, the  best  practices  for
tick removal, recommendations for the reduction of exposure to ticks and
appropriate course of action once a tick is removed from the body.
* NB There are 3 par (m)'s
* (m)  The  department shall conduct such a program relating to breast
density, which  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited  to,  educational
information  regarding  the meaning and potential health consequences of
having dense breast  tissue,  the  impact  of  dense  breast  tissue  on
mammographic  screening for breast cancer and supplemental breast cancer
screening techniques, and provide access to other  educational  websites
regarding dense breast tissue and literature regarding risk factors.
* NB There are 3 par (m)'s
* (m)   Lupus,  a  debilitating  autoimmune  disease  that  can  cause
inflammation and tissue damage to virtually  any  organ  system  in  the
body,  including  the  skin,  joints, other connective tissue, blood and
blood vessels, heart, lung, kidney and brain, and which  affects  women,

particularly women of color, in a disproportionate manner; provided that
the  program  shall  include an advisory council under this section that
shall include representatives of people with lupus  and  their  families
and  health  care  providers  who  specialize  in  treating lupus, among
others.
* NB There are 3 par (m)'s
(n)  Pediatric  acute-onset  neuropsychiatric  syndrome,  a   clinical
diagnosis  given  to  children  who  have a sudden and dramatic onset of
neuropsychiatric symptoms including obsessive compulsive disorder and/or
eating disorder, and which may cause affected children to become  moody,
irritable  and anxious, and to have difficulty with schoolwork. Provided
that such program shall include an advisory council under  this  section
that  shall include representatives of people with pediatric acute-onset
neuropsychiatric syndrome and their families and health  care  providers
who specialize in treating such syndrome, among others.
(o)  For  women who may become pregnant, expectant parents and parents
of infants, information regarding:
(i) the incidence of cytomegalovirus;
(ii) the transmission and risks of cytomegalovirus to  pregnant  women
and women who may become pregnant;
(iii) birth defects caused by congenital cytomegalovirus;
(iv) methods of diagnosing congenital cytomegalovirus;
(v)  the available preventive measures to avoid the infection of women
who are pregnant or may become pregnant; and
(vi) available  methods  of  treating  cytomegalovirus  and  resources
available for families of children born with cytomegalovirus.
* (p)  Reproductive  health  conditions  that affect female fertility,
including but not limited to polycystic ovary  syndrome,  endometriosis,
and pelvic inflammatory disease.
* NB There are 3 par (p)'s
* (p) Postnatal donation of tissue and fluids.
* NB There are 3 par (p)'s
* (p)   Preeclampsia,  including  information  about  detection,  risk
factors and management, and possible options for treatment.
* NB There are 3 par (p)'s
(q) Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome  ("ME/CFS"),  a
multi-system  disease  associated  with  neurological, immunological and
energy  metabolism  impairment  characterized   by   long-standing   and
debilitating fatigue.
* (r)  For  those  who are experiencing pregnancy loss or infant loss,
which shall for the purposes  of  this  paragraph  include  but  not  be
limited to, miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination for medical reasons,
information regarding:
(i) the potential mental and physical impact from such loss; and
(ii) resources for support and follow-up care.
* NB There are 3 par (r)'s
* (r)  The  physical,  sexual,  and  psychological  impact  of medical
procedures performed on intersex individuals, including those  who  have
not  themselves consented to the procedure; provided that the department
shall consult with appropriate stakeholders, including, but not  limited
to  intersex  persons,  intersex-led  organizations,  and  their  chosen
advocates, while developing this outreach program.
* NB There are 3 par (r)'s
* (r) Sickle cell disease including  but  not  limited  to  screening,
prevention,  and  treatment  information.  The  department,  through the
health equity council pursuant to section  two  hundred  forty-three  of
this  article,  or a successor council, shall consult with patients with
sickle cell  disease  and  their  families  and  health  care  providers

specializing  in  treating  sickle  cell  disease,  among others, in the
production of any such information.
* NB There are 3 par (r)'s
2. Programs under this section, dealing with one or more subjects, may
include but not be limited to any of the following elements:
(a)  educational  and informational materials in print, audio, visual,
electronic or other media;
(b) public service announcements and advertisements; and
(c) establishment  of  toll-free  telephone  hotlines  and  electronic
services to provide information.
3.   The   department  may  produce,  make  available  to  others  for
reproduction,  or  contract  with  others  to  develop  such   materials
mentioned  in  this section as the commissioner deems appropriate. These
materials shall be made  available  to  the  public  and  to  educators,
including  but  not limited to elementary and secondary school educators
free of charge as appropriate or for a fee under certain  circumstances.
The  commissioner may require where appropriate any health care provider
to make these materials available to patients.
4. In exercising any of his or her  powers  under  this  section,  the
commissioner  may  consult  with  appropriate health care professionals,
providers,  consumers,   educators   and   patients   or   organizations
representing them.
5.  The  commissioner  shall ensure that all information and materials
produced pursuant to this section are maintained and updated to  reflect
best practice recommendations.
6.  The  commissioner  may  appoint  as  appropriate advisory councils
relating to various matters that are or are proposed to be the  subjects
of  programs  under  this  section.  All  such  councils  shall  include
representation  of  health  care  professionals,  providers,  educators,
consumers,  patients and other appropriate interests. The members of the
councils shall receive no compensation for their services, but shall  be
allowed  their  actual and necessary expenses incurred in performance of
their duties.
7. In addition to state funds appropriated  for  programs  under  this
section,  the  commissioner  may  accept  grants  from public or private
sources for these programs.  The  commissioner,  in  administering  this
section,  shall  seek to coordinate the department's programs with other
public and private programs, and  may  undertake  joint  or  cooperative
programs  with other public or private entities, including making grants
(within amounts appropriated therefor  and  consistent  with  applicable
law) to public or not-for-profit entities.
8.  The  commissioner  may  make  rules  and regulations necessary and
appropriate for implementation of this section.