Local Health Officer Training

Section 4: Appointments and Duties

Statutory Duties and Limits to Duties (Continued)

6. After consulting with the commissioner or the commissioner's designee, order the suppression and removal of nuisances and conditions suspected of posing or found to pose a public health threat;

7. Act as a resource for connecting residents with the public health services and resources provided by the Maine CDC; and

8. Enforce public health safety laws, including:
   1. Laws pertaining to the exclusion of students from school under Title 20-A M.R.S.A., section 6356;
   2. Laws pertaining to control of browntail moths under section 1444;
   3. Laws pertaining to the removal of a private nuisance or nuisance of a dead animal under sections 1561 and 1562;
   4. Laws pertaining to the establishment of temporary health care facilities under section 1762; and
   5. Laws pertaining to prohibited dumping under Title 30-A, section 3352.

Reporting:

Maine law requires all local health care providers/personnel, including LHOs, to report diseases and conditions deemed to be of public health importance – public health threats. In accordance with Title 22 M.R.S.A., sections 801-825, Maine CDC rules and procedures to provide a uniform system of reporting, recording, and collecting information concerning notifiable diseases and conditions. Clearly, to comply with the disease reporting law, it is essential that you contact Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program-Disease Reporting at Phone: 1 - 800 - 821 - 5821 (24 hours a day), or click on the link.  https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/infectious-disease/epi/disease-reporting/index.shtml

For purposes of this subsection, "public health threat" means any condition or behavior that can reasonably be expected to place others at significant risk of exposure to infection with a communicable disease: 10-144, Chapter 258: Rules for the Control of Notifiable Conditions (word*)

However, if you have any questions about the reporting of health threats, the Maine CDC at 207-287-4397, or your DHHS District Liaison.

 

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