N.Y. Public Health Law § 602: Core public health services

§ 602. Core public health services. 1. To be eligible for state aid, a

municipality must provide the following core public health services:

(a) Family health, which shall include activities designed to reduce

perinatal, infant and maternal mortality and morbidity and to promote

the health of infants, children, adolescents, and people of childbearing

age. Such activities shall include family centered perinatal services

and other services appropriate to promote the birth of a healthy baby to

a healthy mother, and services to assure that infants, young children,

and school age children are enrolled in appropriate health insurance

programs and other health benefit programs for which they are eligible,

and that the parents or guardians of such children are provided with

information concerning health care providers in their area that are

willing and able to provide health services to such children. Provision

of primary and preventive clinical health care services shall be

eligible for state aid for uninsured persons under the age of

twenty-one, provided that the municipality makes good faith efforts to

assist such persons with insurance enrollment and only until such time

as enrollment becomes effective. Provision of prenatal clinical health

care services shall be eligible for state aid for uninsured women of any

age, provided that the municipality makes good faith efforts to assist

such women with insurance enrollment and only until such time as

enrollment becomes effective.

(b) Communicable disease control, which shall include activities to

control and mitigate the extent of infectious diseases. Such activities

shall include, but not be limited to, surveillance and epidemiological

programs, programs to detect diseases in their early stages,

immunizations against infectious diseases, investigation of diseases and

prevention of transmission, prevention and treatment of sexually

transmissible diseases, and arthropod vector-borne disease prevention.

(c) Chronic disease prevention, which shall include promoting public,

health care provider and other community service provider activities

that encourage chronic disease prevention, early detection and quality

care delivery. Such activities include, but are not limited to, those

that promote healthy communities and reduce risk factors such as tobacco

use, poor nutrition and physical inactivity. Provision of clinical

services shall not be eligible for state aid, subject to such exceptions

as the commissioner may deem appropriate.

(d) Community health assessment, as described in section six hundred

two-a of this article.

(e) Environmental health, which shall include activities that promote

health and prevent illness and injury by assuring that safe and sanitary

conditions are maintained at public drinking water supplies, food

service establishments, and other regulated facilities; investigating

public health nuisances to assure abatement by responsible parties;

protecting the public from unnecessary exposure to radiation, chemicals,

and other harmful contaminants; and conducting investigations of

incidents that result in illness, injury or death in order to identify

and mitigate the environmental causes to prevent additional morbidity

and mortality.

(f) Public health emergency preparedness and response, including

planning, training, and maintaining readiness for public health

emergencies.

2. The municipality must incorporate into each core public health

service the following general activities:

(a) ongoing assessment of community health needs;

(b) education on public health issues;

(c) development of policies and plans to address health needs; and

(d) actions to assure that services necessary to achieve agreed upon

goals are provided.

3. The commissioner may approve a state aid application in which the

municipality actually provides fewer services than those set forth in

subdivision one of this section as long as the application identifies

the availability of other services, who will provide those services and

the manner in which the services will be provided and financed.

4. The commissioner shall consult with the county health

commissioners, public health directors, and boards of public health when

promulgating rules and regulations to effectuate the provisions and

purposes of this article. The commissioner shall not have the power to

prescribe the number of persons to be employed by any municipality.