3701.20.
Poison control network - purposes
| (A) |
In accordance with rules adopted
under
division (C) of this section, the director of health shall establish, promote,
and maintain the Ohio poison control network; designate regions within the
network; and designate poison prevention and treatment centers within each
region. The purposes of the network are to:
| (1) |
Reduce
the mortality resulting from and the expenditures incurred because of
accidental, homicidal, suicidal, occupational, or environmental
poisoning; |
| (2) |
Educate
the public and health care professionals concerning the prevention and
treatment of exposure to poison; |
| (3) |
Organize poison prevention and treatment activities on a regional basis to
avoid duplication and waste. |
|
| (B) |
To be eligible for designation as a poison
prevention and treatment center and to retain the designation, a center must
maintain compliance with the standards established by the
director pursuant to division (C) of this section. A
poison prevention and treatment center may be operated by an individual,
hospital, institution of higher education, political subdivision, association,
corporation, or public or private agency. |
| (C) |
In accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised
Code, the director shall adopt rules that do the following:
| (1) |
Establish guidelines, based on population density and other relevant factors,
and procedures to be followed in designating poison control network regions and
centers; |
| (2) |
Establish standards for the operation of poison prevention and treatment
centers; |
| (3) |
Establish standards and procedures to be followed in making grants to
poison prevention and treatment centers; |
| (4) |
Establish procedures, other than those prescribed by Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code, for reconsideration, at the request of the entity affected, of
the denial or revocation of a designation as a poison prevention and treatment
center. |
|
| (D) |
In
accordance with rules adopted under division (C) of this
section, the director of health shall make grants to poison prevention
and treatment centers. A center is not eligible for a grant unless, prior to
receiving the grant, the entity that operates the center agrees in writing that
the level of the total funds, labor, and services devoted by the entity to the
center during the period of the grant will approximate, as determined by the
director of health, the level of the total funds, labor, and services devoted
to the center by that entity in the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in
which the grant begins. |
| (E) |
Each poison prevention and treatment center shall
do all of the following:
| (1) |
Maintain and staff a twenty-four-hour per day, toll-free, telephone line to
respond to inquiries and provide information about poison prevention and
treatment and available services; |
| (2) |
Provide
specialized treatment, consultation, information, and educational programs to
health care professionals and the public; |
| (3) |
Compile
information on the types and frequency of treatment it provides.
A center may provide
the services described in divisions (E)(1) and (2) of this section either
directly or through contract with other facilities, as the director of health
considers appropriate. Each center shall take measures to ensure the
confidentiality of information about individuals to whom treatment or services
are provided.
|
|
| (F) |
The director of health may revoke the designation
of a poison treatment and control center, or deny an application for
designation, if the center or applicant fails to meet or maintain the standards
established in rules adopted under division (C) of
this section. The entity seeking the designation may have the revocation
or denial reconsidered in accordance with rules adopted
under division (C) of this section. |
| (G) |
| (1) |
A poison
prevention and treatment center, its officers, employees, volunteers, or other
persons associated with the center, and a person, organization, or institution
that advises or assists a poison prevention and treatment center are not liable
in damages in a tort action for harm that allegedly arises from advice or
assistance rendered to any person unless the advice or assistance is given in a
manner that constitutes willful or wanton misconduct or intentionally tortious
conduct. |
| (2) |
This section does not create, and shall not be
construed as creating, a new cause of action or substantive legal right against
a poison prevention and treatment center, its officers, employees, volunteers,
or other persons associated with the center, or a person, organization, or
institution that advises or assists a poison prevention and treatment
center. |
| (3) |
This section does not affect, and shall not be
construed as affecting, any immunities from civil liability or defenses
conferred by any other section of the Revised Code or available at common law,
to which a poison prevention and treatment center, its officers, employees,
volunteers, or other persons associated with the center or a person,
organization, or institution that advises or assists a poison prevention and
treatment center may be entitled under circumstances not specified by this
section. |
|
| (H) |
The director shall annually report to the general
assembly findings and recommendations concerning the effectiveness, impact, and
benefits of the poison prevention and treatment centers. |
Cite as (Casemaker) R.C.
§ 3701.20
History. Amended by
129th General AssemblyFile No.127, HB 487,
§101.01, eff.
9/10/2012.
Effective Date: 10-30-1989
.