GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 319

Short Title:  Day Care Health Assessment.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Colton and Easterling.
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Referred to:  Human Resources.
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March 25, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CLARIFY RULEMAKING AND ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY FOR DAY CARE HEALTH ISSUES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 110-91(1) reads as rewritten:
"(1)	Medical Care and Sanitation. – The Commission for Health Services shall adopt rules which establish minimum sanitation standards for day-care facilities and their personnel. The sanitation rules adopted by the Commission for Health Services shall cover such matters as the cleanliness of floors, walls, ceilings, storage spaces, utensils, and other facilities; adequacy of ventilation; sanitation of water supply, lavatory facilities, toilet facilities, sewage disposal, food protection facilities, bactericidal treatment of eating and drinking utensils, and solid-waste storage and disposal; methods of food preparation and serving; infectious disease control; sleeping facilities; and such other items and facilities as are necessary in the interest of the public health.  These rules shall be developed in consultation with the Department of Human Resources.
		The Child Day Care Commission shall adopt rules to establish minimum requirements for child and staff health assessments and medical care procedures.  These rules shall be developed in consultation with the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources.  Each child shall have a health assessment by a licensed physician or his authorized agent who is currently approved by the North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners, or comparable certifying board in any state contiguous to North Carolina, by a certified nurse practitioner, or by a public health nurse meeting the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources' Standards for Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment Program, prior to being admitted or within 30 days following admission to a day-care facility; a record of such assessment shall be on file in the records of the facility, provided, however, that no health assessment shall be required of any child who is and has been in normal health and whose parent, guardian, or full-time custodian objects in writing to a health assessment on religious grounds which conform to the teachings and practice of any recognized church or religious denomination.
		Each child shall be immunized in such manner as to meet the requirements of Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes.
		Each day-care facility shall have a plan of emergency medical care which shall include provisions for communication with and transportation to a specified medical resource, unless otherwise previously instructed. No child receiving day care shall be administered any drug or other medication without specific written instructions from a physician or the child's parent, guardian or full-time custodian. Emergency information on each child in care, including the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of the child's physician and parents, legal guardian or full-time custodian shall be readily available to the staff of the day-care facility while children are in care.
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Sec. 2.  G.S. 110-92 reads as rewritten:
"§ 110-92. Duties of State and local agencies.
When requested by an operator of a day-care facility or by the Secretary of Human Resources, it shall be the duty of local and district health departments to visit and inspect a day-care facility to determine whether the facility complies with the health and sanitation standards required by this Article and with the minimum sanitation standards adopted as rules by the Commission for Health Services as authorized by G.S. 110-91(1), and to submit written reports on such visits or inspections to the Department of Human Resources on forms approved and provided by the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources.
When requested by an operator of a day-care facility or by the Secretary of Human Resources, it shall be the duty of the local and district health departments, and any building inspector, fire prevention inspector, or fireman employed by local government, or any fireman having jurisdiction, or other officials or personnel of local government to visit and inspect a day-care facility for the purposes specified in this Article, including plans for evacuation of the premises and protection of children in case of fire, and to report on such visits or inspections in writing to the Secretary of Human Resources so that such reports may serve as the basis for action or decisions by the Secretary or Department as authorized by this Article."
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1991.