Section 3358:11-4-04 - Communicable disease policy(A) Purpose. It is the policy of Owens community college to promote the rights of persons with communicable diseases to education and employment, while providing a safe and healthy environment for the college's students and employees. The college will make all reasonable accommodations to persons infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and to employ/continue to employ persons so infected. As appropriate, faculty and staff will be provided training and/or information regarding blood borne pathogens, universal precautions, and work practice controls.(B) Response to incidents. The college will be flexible in its response to incidents of disease at the college, evaluating each occurrence in light of all applicable federal, state, and local laws, its general rule, and the latest information available. A case review committee consisting of health services, an appropriate health professional, the department chair (in cases involving students), and the vice president for human resources will be available to meet to consider reported occurrences of disease.(C) Exposure to blood or body fluids. The college affords a broad range of academic opportunities in diverse health care fields. Instruction in some health care fields may require communicable disease precautions against exposure to blood or body fluids. Blood and body fluids are defined as blood, semen, vaginal secretions, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, pleural fluid, pericardial fluid, peritoneal fluids, amniotic fluid, saliva, other body fluids containing visible blood, human tissue or organs other than intact skin, HIV-containing cell or tissue cultures, organ cultures, and HIV or HBV-containing culture medium or other solutions; and blood, organs, or other tissues from experimental animals infected with HIV or HBV.(D) Individual departmental policies. Each department of the college in which activities may be reasonably anticipated to have a risk of exposure to blood or other potentially infectious materials will develop a written communicable disease policy. Students and employees will be notified when such policies become available.(E) General guidelines. (1) The college will be guided in its actions by the most recent medical evidence, the federal regulations of the rehabilitation act, state law, guidelines from the centers for disease control (CDC), the public health services, the American College Health Association, and the department of health.(2) The college will not routinely screen all members of the college community for communicable diseases unless and until required to do so by law, because communicable diseases may have different modes of transmission and should be evaluated on an individual basis.(3) The Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals by employers and those who provide services with the assistance of federal funding. Under federal law, the college, as an employer and a provider of educational services, must make reasonable accommodations for handicapped individuals, including those with communicable diseases.(4) The college maintains standards of confidentiality regarding medical information about students or employees that are protected by the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. This act requires that no specific or detailed information concerning symptoms or diagnoses be provided to faculty, staff administrators or family members without the express written permission of the student/employee. Only individuals at the college with a legitimate need to know will have knowledge of the existence and/or employees with communicative diseases. The issue of a safe working environment can best be resolved by adequate educational programming.(F) Education. (1) The primary responsibility of the college in the prevention of the spread of communicable diseases shall be education. A committee on communicable diseases, whose members are appointed by the president, shall assist in coordinating the college's efforts in educating the college community on communicable diseases. The committee will be chaired by the vice president for human resources and shall consist of at least one faculty member and representation from the following areas: health services, health technologies division, maintenance, security, and student services (one each from Toledo and Findlay campuses).(2) The college will make available to its students and employees information about the transmissibility of disease(s) and precautions that may be taken by infected persons to prevent the spread of disease. Coordination of this effort will be the responsibility of the committee on communicable diseases.Replaces: 3358:11-4-04
Ohio Admin. Code 3358:11-4-04
Effective: 3/7/2002
Promulgated Under: 111.15
Statutory Authority: 3358.08
Rule Amplifies: 3358.08
Prior Effective Dates: 3/7/2002