California Code of Regulations › Title 17 - Public Health › Division 1 - State Department of Health Services › Chapter 4 - Preventive Medical Service › Subchapter 15 - Syringe Exchange Program (SEP) Certification › Article 1 - Definitions › Section 7000 - Syringe Exchange Program (SEP) Certification Definitions

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
The California Department of Public Health proposes the
						following rules for certifying hypodermic needle and syringe exchange programs
						(herein referred to as Syringe Exchange Programs or SEPs) to facilitate the
						prevention of HIV and other bloodborne pathogens.
(a) The following definitions used in these
					 regulations shall have the meaning specified.
(1)
					 "AIDS" means acquired immune deficiency syndrome.
(2) "Administrator" means a person having the
					 authority and responsibility for the operation of the SEP and serves as the contact
					 for communication with the department.
(3) "Applicant" means the entity applying for
					 authorization under Health and Safety Code Section
					 121349,
					 and includes the individual who signs the application for certification of the
					 SEP.
(4) "Bloodborne pathogens" means
					 pathogenic microorganisms that are present in human blood and can cause disease in
					 humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus,
					 hepatitis C virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
(5) "Certification" means departmental
					 authorization of an SEP to operate for up to 2 years.
(6) "Core services" means the primary activities
					 an entity undertakes in order to serve its clients.
(7) "Department" means the California Department
					 of Public Health, Office of AIDS.
(8)
					 "Fixed site" means a building or single location, not a mobile site, where syringe
					 exchange services are provided on a regular basis.
(9) "HIV" means the etiologic virus of
					 AIDS.
(10) "Injection drug user" means a
					 person who uses a syringe to self-administer drugs, referred to in Health and Safety
					 Code Section
					 121349
					 as an intravenous drug user.
(11) "Local
					 Health Jurisdiction" means a California county or city with a local health
					 department.
(12) "Local Law Enforcement
					 Official" means the individual designated by the sheriff or police chief in the
					 district in which the SEP operates who has authority to receive communications from
					 state and local public health agencies.
(13) "Location" means a site within a Local Health
					 Jurisdiction. For this Subchapter, location can be a fixed or mobile site.
(14) "Mobile site" means a location where syringe
					 exchange is conducted using a vehicle such as a van, or by foot in a location that
					 is not a fixed indoor setting.
(15)
					 "Needlestick Injury" means a penetrating wound from a needle that may result in
					 exposure to blood.
(16) "Needlestick
					 Injury Protocol" means policies and procedures, in adherence with the California
					 Occupational Safety and Health Administration protocol as provided in California
					 Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section
					 5193, to prevent needlestick injury to
					 SEP staff, including volunteers, and to SEP participants, and that outline both
					 immediate and subsequent remedial and prophylactic actions to take in the event of a
					 needles-tick injury.
(17) "Needs
					 Statement" means a paragraph that provides the rationale for the request for
					 certification in the location specified and uses data and other objective sources to
					 document the need. Examples include statistics on HIV infection and/or viral
					 hepatitis among injection drug users in the Local Health Jurisdiction, the presence
					 of injection drug users in the location, and the presence or absence of other
					 syringe exchange services in the Local Health Jurisdiction.
(18) "Participant" means a person who uses syringe
					 exchange services, a client of the SEP.
(19) "Participant Confidentiality Protocols" means
					 written protocols that strictly limit the disclosure of participant identification
					 information.
(20) "Program" means an
					 SEP.
(21) "Protocols" means written
					 guidelines that define the limits and extent of practice of the staff of an
					 SEP.
(22) "Public Comment Period" means
					 a 45-day period, commencing from the date the department posts information about an
					 application on its website, in which the public may use the website to comment on an
					 application for SEP certification.
(23)
					 "Sharps Waste" means used needles, syringes and lancets.
(24) "Site" means the location(s) where syringe
					 exchange services are offered to participants.
(25) "Staff" means anyone who provides syringe
					 exchange services on behalf of a program.
(26) "Syringe" means both the needle and syringe
					 used to inject fluids into the body, referred to in Health and Safety Code Section
					 121349
					 as a hypodermic needle and syringe.
(27)
					 "Syringe Exchange Program (SEP)" means a program that provides sterile needles and
					 syringes and collects used sharps waste from injection drug users free of charge as
					 part of efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis and other
					 bloodborne pathogens.
(28) "Viral
					 hepatitis" means any of the forms of hepatitis caused by a virus, including
					 hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus.