In order to implement this part, the commissioner of health shall:

(1) Promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5, as may be necessary to obtain in proper form all information relating to the occurrence of a sudden, unexplained child death that is relevant and appropriate for the establishment of a reliable statistical index of the incidence, distribution and characteristics of cases of sudden, unexplained child death;

Terms Used In Tennessee Code 68-1-1103

  • Sudden infant death syndrome: means the sudden death of an infant under one (1) year of age that remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a complete autopsy, examination of the death scene, and review of the clinical history. See Tennessee Code 68-1-1101
(2) Promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act that establish minimum standards for conducting and completing an investigation, including an autopsy if deemed necessary, into the sudden, unexplained death of any child from birth to age seventeen (17). Initial rules promulgated pursuant to this subdivision (2) are authorized to be promulgated as emergency rules, pursuant to § 4-5-208. In promulgating the rules, the commissioner may rely, in whole or in part, on any nationally recognized standards regarding such investigations. Compliance with the rules shall make county governments eligible for reimbursement, to the extent authorized by those rules, of the costs of any autopsy deemed necessary;
(3) Collect factual information from physicians, coroners, medical examiners, hospitals, and public health officials who have examined any child known or believed to have experienced sudden, unexplained death; provided, that no information shall be collected or solicited that reasonably could be expected to reveal the identity of the child;
(4) Make information collected pursuant to subdivision (3) available to physicians, coroners, medical examiners, hospitals, public health officials, and educational and institutional organizations conducting research as to the causes and incidence of sudden, unexplained child death;
(5) Cause appropriate counseling services to be established and maintained for families affected by the occurrence of sudden infant death syndrome;
(6) Conduct educational programs to inform the general public of any research findings that may lead to the possible means of prevention, early identification, and treatment of sudden infant death syndrome; and
(7) Develop educational literature to inform the general public of the risks and prevalence of sudden infant death syndrome and other infant sleep-related deaths that are sometimes mislabeled as sudden infant death syndrome, so that such information may lead to the possible means of prevention. The commissioner shall make the literature set out in this subdivision (7) available on the department of health’s website.
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