Current through 2024-51, December 18, 2024
Section 144-264-1 - DEFINTIONSA.Certificate of Immunization means a written statement from a physician, nurse, physician assistant or health official who has administered an immunization to an employee, specifying the vaccine administered and the date it was administered. Secondary school or collegiate health records, having been compiled and maintained as an official document based on certificates of immunization, which provide at a minimum the month and year that the immunization was administered and/or which contain copies of laboratory evidence of immunity, may also be accepted as proof of immunization.B.Chief Administrative Officer means the person designated as the president, chief executive officer, administrator, director or otherwise the senior official of a Designated Healthcare Facility.C.Declination means a formal process where an individual makes an informed choice declining Hepatitis B vaccination, following standards and procedures established by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations (29 CFR § 1910.1030(f)(2)(iv) (effective July 6, 1992).D.Department means the Department of Health and Human Services.E.Designated Healthcare Facility means a licensed nursing facility, residential care facility, Intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IID), multi-level healthcare facility, hospital, or home health agency subject to licensure by the State of Maine, Department of Health and Human Services Division of Licensing and Certification.F.Disease means the following conditions which may be preventable by immunization: 3. Rubella (German measles);4. Varicella (chicken pox);G.Employee means, for purposes of this rule, any person who performs any service for wages or other remuneration for a Designated Healthcare Facility, including independent contractors. Persons who provide ad hoc, non-health care services for a Designated Healthcare Facility and have no potential for direct contact (clinical, hands-on, or face-to-face interaction) with staff, patients, or visitors of a Designated Healthcare Facility are not included in this definition of employee. For illustrative purposes only, these may include, but are not limited to, landscapers, snowplow operators, and delivery persons.H.Exclusively work remotely means to provide services while outside the physical premises of a Designated Healthcare Facility and have no direct contact (clinical, hands-on, or face-to-face interaction) with patients, visitors, and other employees.I.Exemption means a formal procedure to procure discharge from requirement to vaccinate.J.Health Official means, for the purposes of this rule, any person who is authorized to administer immunizations.K.Immunization means a vaccine, antitoxin, or other substance used to increase an individual's immunity to disease.L.Public Health Official means a local health officer, the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), or a designated employee or agent of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services (Department).M.Public Health Threat means a condition or behavior that can reasonably be expected to place others at significant risk of exposure to a toxic agent or environmental hazard or infection with a notifiable disease or condition, as defined in 22 MRS §801.10-144 C.M.R. ch. 264, § 1