Title 7 — Human Health Care and Safety.

The Mayor of the District of Columbia shall appoint a physician as Commissioner of Public Health, whose duty it shall be, under the direction of the said Mayor, to execute and enforce all laws and regulations relating to the public health and vital statistics, and to perform all …

Repealed Repealed.

There may be appointed by the Mayor of the District of Columbia, on the recommendation of the Director of the Department of Human Services, a reasonable number of Sanitary Inspectors for said District, to hold such appointment at any 1 time, of whom 2 may be physicians, and 1 sha…

Said Inspectors shall be respectively required to make, at least once in 2 weeks, a report to said Director of the Department of Human Services, in writing, of their inspections, which shall be preserved on file.

Said Director of the Department of Human Services shall report in writing annually to said Mayor of the District of Columbia, and so much oftener as he shall require.

The Mayor of the District of Columbia may appoint, on the like recommendation of the Director of the Department of Human Services, a reasonable number of clerks, but no greater number shall be appointed, and no more persons shall be employed under said Director of the Department …

(a) There is established a Mayor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health, and Nutrition (“Mayor’s Council”) with the mission to improve the health and wellness of all District residents through physical activity and healthy eating. (b)(1) The following individuals, or their designe…

(a) The Mayor’s Council shall: (1) Advise the Mayor on matters related to physical fitness, obesity, and nutrition; (2) Develop objectives to raise awareness of the: (A) Risks of obesity; (B) Benefits of physical activity and fitness; and (C) Benefits of healthy eating; (3) Publi…

The Department of Health shall assist with the administrative functions of the Mayor’s Council as feasible and as not otherwise provided.

The Department of Health shall provide data relating to physical activity, nutrition, and obesity and technical assistance to the Mayor’s Council to assist it in publishing the annual fitness report required by § 7-122(a)(3).

(a) There is established as a nonlapsing fund the Fitness Fund, which shall be separate from the General Fund of the District of Columbia and shall be used solely for the purposes of this subchapter; provided, that not more than 5% of the total funds in the Fitness Fund in any gi…

There is established an executive committee, which shall: (1) Be part of the Mayor’s Council; (2) Advise the Mayor’s Council; (3) Be led by the chairperson designated pursuant to § 7-121(b)(2); (4) Be comprised of not more than 10 members of the Mayor’s Council; provided, that at…

(a) The Mayor may, upon the advice of the Director of the Department of Health and pursuant to subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, issue rules to prevent and control the spread of communicable diseases, environmentally or occupationally related diseases, and other diseases or m…

For the purposes of this subchapter, the term: (1) “Affected with a communicable disease” means a person infected with a communicable disease or exposed to a chemical or radiological agent who is capable of infecting others with the same disease or chemical or radiological agent …

(a) Whenever the Mayor, after consultation with the Director of the Department of Health, has probable cause to believe that a person is affected with a communicable disease or is a carrier of a communicable disease and that the person’s presence in the general population is like…

(a) A copy of the order provided for in § 7-133 shall be delivered to the person in charge of any place or institution where a person or group of persons has been taken or detained, or, if the place of detention is a residence, to any person of suitable age and discretion then pr…

(a) The Mayor shall cause to be conducted, by medical personnel designated by the Mayor, medical examinations of all detained persons to determine whether any detained person is affected with a communicable disease and immediately discharge any person who is not affected with a c…

It shall be unlawful for a person detained in a place or institution pursuant to an order of the Mayor to leave said place or institution unless discharged in the manner provided in § 7-134 or 7-135.

(a) In aid of the powers vested in the Mayor to cause the removal to and detention in a place or institution of a person who is affected or is believed, upon probable cause, to be affected with any communicable disease or is or is believed, upon probable cause, to be a carrier of…

The Mayor may, without fee or hindrance, enter, examine, and inspect all vessels, premises, grounds, structures, buildings, and every part thereof in the District of Columbia for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this subchapter and the rules and regulations issued he…

It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to obstruct, resist, oppose, or interfere with any person performing any duty or function under the authority of this subchapter or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder.

Any person who willfully violates § 7-136, 7-138, or 7-139 or who willfully discloses, receives, uses, or permits the use of information in violation of § 7-131(b) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000, imprisonment for not …

With respect to all persons who, either on behalf of themselves or their minor children or wards, rely in good faith upon spiritual means or prayer in the free exercise of religion to prevent or cure disease, nothing in this subchapter or any rule or regulation issued pursuant to…

Repealed Repealed.

Repealed Repealed.

Each and every provision of this subchapter shall be constructed liberally in aid of the powers vested in the public authorities looking to the protection of the public health, comfort, and welfare and not by way of limitation.

There is established in the Executive Branch of the Government of the District of Columbia a Department of Public Health, which shall have as its responsibility the planning, development and implementation of the delivery of health care services to all District of Columbia reside…

(a) Pursuant to subchapter VI of Chapter 3 of Title 1, the Mayor shall prepare and transmit to the Council a reorganization plan establishing a Department of Public Health no later than October 1, 1993. (b) The reorganization plan establishing the Department of Public Health shal…

The Department of Public Health shall be under the supervision and direction of a Director who shall be appointed by the Mayor in accordance with subchapter X of Chapter 6 of Title 1, and subject to the advice and consent of the Council, as provided in § 1-523.01.

(a) There is established a Public Health Coordination Advisory Committee (“Committee”) which shall be responsible for advising the Director of the Department of Public Health, the Mayor and the Council on policy matters related to the effective and efficient coordination of the d…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term: (1) “Adverse event” means an event, occurrence, or situation involving the medical care of a patient by a health care provider that results in death or an unanticipated injury to the patient. (2) “Healthcare provider” means an indiv…

After April 2, 1938, neither the Chief Clerk nor the Chief Inspector of the Department of Human Services of the District of Columbia shall act as a deputy to the Director of the Department of Human Services of said District.

The Assistant Director of Public Health shall be a physician, and during the absence of or disability of the Director of Public Health shall act as Director of Public Health and discharge the duties incident to that position.

The duties and the authority conferred by law upon the Inspector of Fish and Other Marine Products on May 26, 1908, are hereby vested in each of the Sanitary and Food Inspectors.

The ordinances of the late Board of Health of the District of Columbia, as revised, amended, and adopted, November 19, 1875, entitled “An ordinance to revise, consolidate, and amend the ordinances of the Board of Health, to declare what shall be deemed nuisances injurious to heal…

The ordinances, rules, and regulations of said late Board of Health contained in the report mentioned in § 7-174 and printed in the said Executive Document therein mentioned, namely: (1) “An ordinance to amend an ordinance to prevent domestic animals from running at large within …

Except as provided in § 7-175, the ordinances of the late Board of Health of the District of Columbia, as legalized by §§ 7-174 and 7-175, are hereby declared to have the same force and effect within the District of Columbia as if enacted by Congress in the 1st instance, and the …

The Council of the District of Columbia is hereby authorized and empowered, in making regulations under the authority conferred by Congress, to alter, amend, or repeal any of the ordinances of the late Board of Health of said District which were legalized by §§ 7-174 and 7-175, w…

The Director of the Department of Human Services is authorized to provide and furnish proper containers for the reception, burial, and identification of the ashes of all human bodies of indigent persons that are cremated at the public crematorium, which ashes remain unclaimed aft…

Any Inspector of Dairies and Dairy Farms may act as Inspector of Livestock when directed by the Director of the Department of Human Services.

The following hospital and sanatoria, on and after July 1, 1937, shall be under the direction and control of the Department of Human Services of the District of Columbia and subject to the supervision of the Mayor of the District of Columbia: Tuberculosis Sanatoria and District o…

Unless otherwise specified as used in this chapter, the term: (1) “Court” means the Superior Court of the District of Columbia established by § 11-901. (2) “Day” means calendar day. (3) “Dead body” means a human body or such parts of such human body from the condition of which it…

The Mayor shall establish a vital records system consistent with this chapter for the reporting, maintenance, issuance, and confidentiality of vital records.

The Director of the Department of Health shall appoint the Registrar who shall: (1) Be in charge of administering the vital records system and be the custodian of its records; and (2) Develop and distribute forms or other means for transmitting data to carry out the reporting and…

(a) Each certificate, record, report, and other document required by this chapter shall be on a form or in a format prescribed by the Registrar. (b) Each vital record shall contain the date of registration. (c) Information required in a certificate or report may be filed and regi…

(a) A certificate of birth for each live birth which occurs in the District shall be filed as directed by the Registrar, within 5 days after such birth, and shall be registered if it has been completed and filed in accordance with this chapter. (b) When a birth occurs in or en ro…

(a) A person required to prepare and file a certificate of birth shall provide on a form separate from the certificate of birth, the Social Security account number or numbers of each parent, if the parent has more than 1 Social Security account number. The Social Security account…

(a) A person who assumes legal custody of a live born infant of unknown parentage shall report the following information to the Registrar, within 5 days after taking custody: (1) Date and place child was found; (2) Sex, race, and approximate birth date of child; (3) Name and addr…

(a) A certificate of birth may be filed after the 5-day period specified in § 7-205 if the person or institution filing the certificate meets the filing and registration requirements imposed by this section. The Registrar shall prescribe by regulation evidentiary requirements to …

(a) If a delayed certificate of birth is rejected under § 7-207, a complaint signed and sworn to by the petitioner may be filed with the Court for an order establishing a record of the date and place of the birth and the parentage of the person whose birth is to be registered. A …