The director of public health shall be the head of the “Iowa Department of Public Health”, which shall:
 1. Exercise general supervision over the public health, promote public hygiene and sanitation, prevent substance abuse and unless otherwise provided, enforce the laws relating to the same.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 135.11

  • Board: means the board of hearing aid specialists. See Iowa Code 154A.1
  • Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Consumer: means any individual whose occupation is other than health services, who has no fiduciary obligation to an institutional health facility, health maintenance organization or other facility primarily engaged in delivery of services provided by persons in health service occupations, and who has no material financial interest in the providing of any health services. See Iowa Code 135.61
  • Department: means the Iowa department of public health. See Iowa Code 135.61
  • Develop: when used in connection with health services, means to undertake those activities which on their completion will result in the offer of a new institutional health service or the incurring of a financial obligation in relation to the offering of such a service. See Iowa Code 135.61
  • Director: means the director of public health, or the director's designee. See Iowa Code 135.61
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Health services: means clinically related diagnostic, curative, or rehabilitative services, and includes alcoholism, drug abuse, and mental health services. See Iowa Code 135.61
  • Hospital: means hospital as defined in section 135B. See Iowa Code 135.61
  • Internet: means the federated international system that is composed of allied electronic communication networks linked by telecommunication channels, that uses standardized protocols, and that facilitates electronic communication services, including but not limited to use of the world wide web; the transmission of electronic mail or messages; the transfer of files and data or other electronic information; and the transmission of voice, image, and video. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Person: means a natural person. See Iowa Code 154A.1
  • Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
  • Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State: means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. See Iowa Code 152E.3
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. Conduct campaigns for the education of the people in hygiene and sanitation.
 3. Issue monthly health bulletins containing fundamental health principles and other health data deemed of public interest.
 4. Make investigations and surveys in respect to the causes of disease and epidemics, and the effect of locality, employment, and living conditions upon the public health. For this purpose the department may use the services of the experts connected with the state hygienic laboratory at the state university of Iowa.
 5. Establish stations throughout the state for the distribution of antitoxins and vaccines to physicians, druggists, and other persons, at cost. All antitoxin and vaccine thus distributed shall be labeled “Iowa Department of Public Health”.
 6. Exercise general supervision over the administration and enforcement of the sexually transmitted diseases and infections law, chapter 139A, subchapter II.
 7. Exercise sole jurisdiction over the disposal and transportation of the dead bodies of human beings and prescribe the methods to be used in preparing such bodies for disposal and transportation. However, the department may approve a request for an exception to the application of specific embalming and disposition rules adopted pursuant to this subsection if such rules would otherwise conflict with tenets and practices of a recognized religious denomination to which the deceased individual adhered or of which denomination the deceased individual was a member. The department shall inform the board of mortuary science of any such approved exception which may affect services provided by a funeral director licensed pursuant to chapter 156.
 8. Establish, publish, and enforce rules which require companies, corporations, and other entities to obtain a permit from the department prior to scattering cremated human remains.
 9. Exercise general supervision over the administration and enforcement of the vital statistics law, chapter 144.
 10. Enforce the law relative to chapter 146 and “Health-related Professions”, Title IV, subtitle 3, excluding chapter 155.
 11. Establish and maintain divisions as are necessary for the proper enforcement of the laws administered by the department.
 12. Establish, publish, and enforce rules not inconsistent with law for the enforcement of the provisions of chapters 125 and 155, and Title IV, subtitle 2, excluding chapter 146 and for the enforcement of the various laws, the administration and supervision of which are imposed upon the department.
 13. Administer healthy aging and essential public health services by approving grants of state funds to the local boards of health for the purposes of promoting healthy aging throughout the lifespan and enhancing health promotion and disease prevention services, and by providing guidelines for the approval of the grants and allocation of the state funds. Guidelines, evaluation requirements and formula allocation procedures for the services shall be established by the department by rule.
 14. Administer chapters 125, 136A, 136C, 139A, 142, 142A, 144, and 147A.
 15. Issue an annual report to the governor as provided in section 7E.3, subsection 4.
 16. Consult with the office of statewide clinical education programs at the university of Iowa college of medicine and annually submit a report to the general assembly by January 15 verifying the number of physicians in active practice in Iowa by county who are engaged in providing obstetrical care. To the extent data are readily available, the report shall include information concerning the number of deliveries per year by specialty and county, the age of physicians performing deliveries, and the number of current year graduates of the university of Iowa college of medicine and the Des Moines university – osteopathic medical center entering into residency programs in obstetrics, gynecology, and family practice. The report may include additional data relating to access to obstetrical services that may be available.
 17. Administer the statewide maternal and child health program and the program for children with disabilities by conducting mobile and regional child health specialty clinics and conducting other activities to improve the health of low-income women and children and to promote the welfare of children with actual or potential conditions which may cause disabilities and children with chronic illnesses in accordance with the requirements of Tit. V of the federal Social Security Act. The department shall provide technical assistance to encourage the coordination and collaboration of state agencies in developing outreach centers which provide publicly supported services for pregnant women, infants, and children. The department shall also, through cooperation and collaborative agreements with the department of human services and the mobile and regional child health specialty clinics, establish common intake proceedings for maternal and child health services. The department shall work in cooperation with the legislative services agency in monitoring the effectiveness of the maternal and child health centers, including the provision of transportation for patient appointments and the keeping of scheduled appointments.
 18. Establish, publish, and enforce rules requiring prompt reporting of methemoglobinemia, pesticide poisoning, and the reportable poisonings and illnesses established pursuant to section 139A.21.
 19. Collect and maintain reports of pesticide poisonings and other poisonings, illnesses, or injuries caused by selected chemical or physical agents, including methemoglobinemia and pesticide and fertilizer hypersensitivity; and compile and publish, annually, a statewide and county-by-county profile based on the reports.
 20. Adopt rules which require personnel of a licensed hospice, of a homemaker-home health aide provider agency which receives state homemaker-home health aide funds, or of an agency which provides respite care services and receives funds to complete training concerning blood-borne pathogens, including human immunodeficiency virus and viral hepatitis, consistent with standards from the federal occupational safety and health administration.
 21. Adopt rules which require all emergency medical services personnel, fire fighters, and law enforcement personnel to complete training concerning blood-borne pathogens, including human immunodeficiency virus and viral hepatitis, consistent with standards from the federal occupational safety and health administration.
 22. Adopt rules which provide for the testing of a convicted or alleged offender for the human immunodeficiency virus pursuant to sections 915.40 through 915.43. The rules shall provide for the provision of counseling, health care, and support services to the victim.
 23. Establish ad hoc and advisory committees to the director in areas where technical expertise is not otherwise readily available. Members may be compensated for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. To encourage health consumer participation, public members may also receive a per diem as specified in section 7E.6 if funds are available and the per diem is determined to be appropriate by the director. Expense moneys paid to the members shall be paid from funds appropriated to the department. A majority of the members of such a committee constitutes a quorum.
 24. Administer annual grants to county boards of health for the purpose of conducting programs for the testing of private water supply wells, the closing of abandoned private water supply wells, and the renovation or rehabilitation of private water supply wells. Grants shall be funded through moneys transferred to the department from the agriculture management account of the groundwater protection fund pursuant to section 455E.11, subsection 2, paragraph “b”, subparagraph (2), subparagraph division (b). The department shall adopt rules relating to the awarding of the grants.
 25. Establish and administer, if sufficient funds are available to the department, a program to assess and forecast health workforce supply and demand in the state for the purpose of identifying current and projected workforce needs. The program may collect, analyze, and report data that furthers the purpose of the program. The program shall not release information that permits identification of individual respondents of program surveys.
 26. In consultation with the advisory committee for perinatal guidelines, develop and maintain the statewide perinatal program based on the recommendations of the American academy of pediatrics and the American college of obstetricians and gynecologists contained in the most recent edition of the guidelines for perinatal care, and shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 17A to implement those recommendations. Hospitals within the state shall determine whether to participate in the statewide perinatal program, and select the hospital‘s level of participation in the program. A hospital having determined to participate in the program shall comply with the guidelines appropriate to the level of participation selected by the hospital. Perinatal program surveys and reports are privileged and confidential and are not subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for their release to a person other than the affected hospital, and are not admissible in evidence in a judicial or administrative proceeding other than a proceeding involving verification of the participating hospital under this subsection.
 27. In consultation with the department of corrections, the antibiotic resistance task force, and the American federation of state, county and municipal employees, develop educational programs to increase awareness and utilization of infection control practices in institutions listed in section 904.102.
 28. Administer the Iowa youth survey, in collaboration with other state agencies, as appropriate, every two years to students in grades six, eight, and eleven in Iowa’s public and nonpublic schools. Survey data shall be evaluated and reported, with aggregate data available online at the Iowa youth survey internet site.
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