SECTIONS 7570-7576 - California Statutes

PENAL CODE

SECTION 7570-7576

7570. In enacting this chapter, the Legislature hereby finds and
declares that tuberculosis is a serious contagious disease. It is
vital to the health and safety of inmates, employees, and the public
at large, to conduct appropriate examinations, testing, and treatment
in order to control the spread of tuberculosis in California's
institutions.

7571. For purposes of this title, the following definitions shall
apply:
(a) "Chief medical officer" means the chief medical officer or
acting chief medical officer of a state prison or any facility under
the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections or the Department
of the Youth Authority.
(b) "Inmate or ward" means any person incarcerated within the
jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections or the Department of
the Youth Authority, with the exception of a person on parole.
(c) "Institution" means any state prison, camp, center, office, or
other facility under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Corrections or the Department of the Youth Authority.
(d) "Examination, test, or treatment" means methods, processes, or
other means, including medical evaluations, testing, followup
examinations, or treatment, in accordance with the recommendations of
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as specified in
the guidelines for tuberculosis control of the Department of
Corrections and the Department of the Youth Authority.
(e) "Medical evaluation" means taking a history or gathering other
information and may include, but is not limited to, listening to the
chest or other examinations or tests as specified in the guidelines
for tuberculosis control of the Department of Corrections and the
Department of the Youth Authority.
(f) "Department" means the Department of Corrections and the
Department of the Youth Authority.
(g) "Chief of medical services" means the medical officer, acting
medical officer, or designee responsible for all medical services of
the Department of Corrections or the Department of the Youth
authority.

7572. The chief of medical services, or his or her designee, shall
use every available means to ascertain the existence of, and to
immediately investigate all reported or suspected cases of,
tuberculosis in the infectious stages and to ascertain the source or
sources of the infections. In carrying out these investigations, the
chief of medical services, or his or her designee, is hereby invested
with full powers of inspection, examination, and quarantine or
isolation of all inmates or wards known to be, or reasonably
suspected to be, infected with tuberculosis in an infectious stage.

7573. (a) The chief medical officer shall order an inmate or ward
to receive an examination or test, or may order an inmate or ward to
receive treatment if the medical officer has a reasonable suspicion
that the inmate or ward has, has had, or has been exposed to
tuberculosis in an infectious stage and the chief medical officer has
reasonable grounds to believe that it is necessary for the
preservation and protection of staff and inmates or wards.
(b) The chief medical officer shall ensure that examinations or
tests for tuberculosis on all inmates or wards are conducted upon
incarceration and at least annually thereafter.

7574. Notwithstanding Section 2600 or 2601, or any other provision
of law, any inmate or ward who refuses to submit to an examination,
test, or treatment for tuberculosis as described in Section 7572 or
7573, or who refuses treatment for tuberculosis, or who, after
notice, violates, or refuses or neglects to conform to, any rule,
order, guideline, or regulation prescribed by the department with
regard to tuberculosis control shall be tested involuntarily and may
be treated involuntarily. This inmate or ward shall be subject to
disciplinary action as described in Title 15 of the California Code
of Regulations.

7575. To provide effective control of the spread of tuberculosis in
institutions and to identify those among the inmate and ward
populations with tuberculosis, the Department of Corrections shall
operate pursuant to guidelines developed in consultation with the
State Department of Health Services, which shall be adopted on or
before July 1, 1994. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited
to, establishing a reporting system which emphasizes standardized,
uniform data collection, reporting, and assessment, as specified in
Section 7576.

7576. (a) The Department of Corrections, the Department of the
Youth Authority, the Board of Prison Terms, and the Youthful Offender
Parole Board shall compile information through each department's
respective reporting systems for individual institutions and each
respective department as a whole and shall provide the results to the
State Department of Health Services annually. The information
reported shall consist of the following:
(1) Prevalence rates and conversion rates (tuberculin incidence)
for tuberculosis infection for inmates or wards and staff in each
institution.
(2) Case numbers and case rates for tuberculosis disease for
inmates or wards in each institution.
(b) Subject to additional staffing resources provided through the
state budget process, the departments described in subdivision (a)
shall also compile the following information for individual
institutions and each respective department as a whole and shall
provide the results to the State Department of Health Services
annually:
(1) Percentage of inmates and wards with tuberculosis disease who
complete the prescribed course of directly observed curative therapy
in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
recommendations and as specified in the department's guidelines for
tuberculosis control.
(2) Percentage of inmates and wards with culture positive sputum
that convert to culture negative in accordance with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and as specified in
the department's guidelines for tuberculosis control.
(3) Percentage of inmates and wards with tuberculosis who complete
the prescribed INH (isoniazid) or other appropriate directly
observed preventive therapy in accordance with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and as specified in
the department's guidelines for tuberculosis control.