36-132

36-132. Department of health services;
functions; contracts

A. The department shall, in addition to other powers and duties vested in it by
law:

1. Protect the health of the people of the state.

2. Promote the development, maintenance, efficiency and effectiveness of local
health departments or districts of sufficient population and area that they can be
sustained with reasonable economy and efficient administration, provide technical
consultation and assistance to local health departments or districts, provide financial
assistance to local health departments or districts and services that meet minimum
standards of personnel and performance and in accordance with a plan and budget submitted
by the local health department or districts to the department for approval, and recommend
the qualifications of all personnel.

3. Collect, preserve, tabulate and interpret all information required by law in
reference to births, deaths and all vital facts, and obtain, collect and preserve
information relating to the health of the people of the state and the prevention of
diseases as may be useful in the discharge of functions of the department not in conflict
with the provisions of chapter 3 of this title, and sections 36-693, 36-694 and 39-122.

4. Operate such sanitariums, hospitals or other facilities assigned to the
department by law or by the governor.

5. Conduct a statewide program of health education relevant to the powers and
duties of the department, prepare educational materials and disseminate information as to
conditions affecting health, including basic information for the promotion of good health
on the part of individuals and communities, and prepare and disseminate technical
information concerning public health to the health professions, local health officials
and hospitals. In cooperation with the department of education, the department of health
services shall prepare and disseminate materials and give technical assistance for the
purpose of education of children in hygiene, sanitation and personal and public health,
and provide consultation and assistance in community organization to counties,
communities and groups of people.

6. Administer or supervise a program of public health nursing, prescribe the
minimum qualifications of all public health nurses engaged in official public health
work, and encourage and aid in coordinating local public health nursing services.

7. Encourage and aid in coordinating local programs concerning control of
preventable diseases in accordance with statewide plans that shall be formulated by the
department.

8. Encourage and aid in coordinating local programs concerning maternal and child
health, including midwifery, antepartum and postpartum care, infant and preschool health
and the health of school children, including special fields such as the prevention of
blindness and conservation of sight and hearing.

9. Encourage and aid in the coordination of local programs concerning nutrition of
the people of the state.

10. Encourage, administer and provide dental health care services and aid in
coordinating local programs concerning dental public health, in cooperation with the
Arizona dental association. The department may bill and receive payment for costs
associated with providing dental health care services and shall deposit the monies in the
oral health fund established by section 36-138.

11. Establish and maintain adequate serological, bacteriological, parasitological,
entomological and chemical laboratories with qualified assistants and facilities
necessary for routine examinations and analyses and for investigations and research in
matters affecting public health.

12. Supervise, inspect and enforce the rules concerning the operation of public
bathing places and public and semipublic swimming pools adopted pursuant to section
36-136, subsection H, paragraph 10.

13. Take all actions necessary or appropriate to ensure that bottled water sold to
the public and water used to process, store, handle, serve and transport food and drink
are free from filth, disease-causing substances and organisms and unwholesome, poisonous,
deleterious or other foreign substances. All state agencies and local health agencies
involved with water quality shall provide to the department any assistance requested by
the director to ensure that this paragraph is effectuated.

14. Enforce the state food, caustic alkali and acid laws in accordance with chapter
2, article 2 of this title, chapter 8, article 1 of this title and chapter 9, article 4
of this title, and collaborate in the enforcement of the federal food, drug and cosmetic
act of 1938 (52 Stat. 1040; 21 United States Code sections 1 through 905).

15. Recruit and train personnel for state, local and district health departments.

16. Conduct continuing evaluations of state, local and district public health
programs, study and appraise state health problems and develop broad plans for use by the
department and for recommendation to other agencies, professions and local health
departments for the best solution of these problems.

17. License and regulate health care institutions according to chapter 4 of this
title.

18. Issue or direct the issuance of licenses and permits required by law.

19. Participate in the state civil defense program and develop the necessary
organization and facilities to meet wartime or other disasters.

20. Subject to the availability of monies, develop and administer programs in
perinatal health care, including:

(a) Screening in early pregnancy for detecting high risk conditions.

(b) Comprehensive prenatal health care.

(d) Perinatal consultation, including transportation of the pregnant woman to a
perinatal care center when medically indicated.

(e) Perinatal education oriented toward professionals and consumers, focusing on
early detection and adequate intervention to avert premature labor and delivery.

21. License and regulate the health and safety of group homes for the
developmentally disabled. The department shall issue a license to an accredited facility
for a period of the accreditation, except that no licensing period shall be longer than
three years. The department is authorized to conduct an inspection of an accredited
facility to ensure that the facility meets health and safety licensure standards. The
results of the accreditation survey shall be public information. A copy of the final
accreditation report shall be filed with the department of health services. For the
purposes of this paragraph, "accredited" means accredited by a nationally recognized
accreditation organization.

B. The department may accept from the state or federal government, or any agency of
the state or federal government, and from private donors, trusts, foundations or
eleemosynary corporations or organizations grants or donations for or in aid of the
construction or maintenance of any program, project, research or facility authorized by
this title, or in aid of the extension or enforcement of any program, project or facility
authorized, regulated or prohibited by this title, and enter into contracts with the
federal government, or an agency of the federal government, and with private donors,
trusts, foundations or eleemosynary corporations or organizations, to carry out such
purposes. All monies made available under this section are special project grants. The
department may also expend these monies to further applicable scientific research within
this state.

C. The department, in establishing fees authorized by this section, shall comply
with title 41, chapter 6. The department shall not set a fee at more than the
department's cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. State agencies
are exempt from all fees imposed pursuant to this section.

D. The department may enter into contracts with organizations that perform nonrenal
organ transplant operations and organizations that primarily assist in the management of
end stage renal disease and related problems to provide, as payors of last resort,
prescription medications necessary to supplement treatment and transportation to and from
treatment facilities. The contracts may provide for department payment of administrative
costs it specifically authorizes.