Section 216-RICR-20-15-7.5 - General RequirementsA. Healthcare facilities shall adopt, at a minimum, the standards of immunization and communicable disease testing and standards for health screening contained herein.B. It shall be the responsibility of the administrative head, or his or her designee, of any healthcare facility to secure compliance with these Regulations.C. Each healthcare facility shall develop policies, procedures, and/or protocols for compliance with the requirements described in these Regulations.D. Transient employees or outside contractors who are not involved in direct patient contact and are not potentially exposed in the course of employment to infectious agents that can be transmitted from person to person, are exempt from the requirements stated in these Regulations.E. Healthcare facilities and healthcare workers shall comply with additional immunization and screening requirements that the Director may prescribe from time to time to control communicable diseases.F. Persons discovering communicable diseases (e.g., physicians, physician assistants, registered nurse practitioners), in the process of screening health care workers shall comply with the reporting requirements contained in Part 30-05-1 of this Title.G. In accordance with ACIP recommendations, for all vaccines discussed in these Regulations, vaccine doses administered less than or equal to four (4) days before the minimum interval or age shall be counted as valid. Doses administered five (5) or more days earlier than the minimum interval or age shall not be counted as valid doses and shall be repeated as age-appropriate. The repeat dose should be spaced after the invalid dose by the recommended minimum interval as provided in § 7.3(A) of this Part.H. Healthcare workers who receive the first (1st) dose of a multi-dose vaccine series may begin to work after this first (1st) dose is received.I. Each healthcare facility shall provide, at no financial charge, an adequate supply of medical masks or higher-grade masks (e.g., N95) to any health care worker.216 R.I. Code R. 216-RICR-20-15-7.5
Amended effective 6/15/2022