Program Description
The Environmental Sanitation Program (ESP) at the Utah Department of Health is responsible to set the standards for a clean and sanitary environment for such entities as food service facilities, public pools, schools, and public lodging facilities, among others. It also is responsible to ensure public health of the citizens of Utah is not compromised due to improper sanitation practices of businesses or facilities. To accomplish this task, the ESP has oversight of 12 environmental sanitation rules, and coordinates the program’s goals to address current environmental sanitation issues with environmental health department directors of the local health departments, Utah industry, as well as other state (Utah Department of Agriculture and Food) and federal (US Food and Drug Administration) officials. The program is also responsible to ensure that the standards set are uniformly enforced by the local health departments throughout the state.
The Utah Administrative Rules that the program oversees are:
R392-100 Food Service Sanitation
R392-101 Food Safety Manager Certification
R392-110 Home-based Childcare Food Service
R392-200 Design, Construction, Operation, Sanitation and Safety of Schools
R392-300 Recreational Camp Sanitation
R392-301 Recreational Vehicle Park Sanitation
R392-302 Design, Construction and Operation of Public Pools
R392-400 Temporary Mass Gatherings Sanitation
R392-401 Roadway Rest Stop Sanitation
R392-402 Mobile Home Park Sanitation
R392-501 Labor Camp Sanitation
R392-502 Hotel, Motel, and Resort Sanitation
R392-510 Utah Indoor Clean Air Act
As the program with rule oversight, it is also the responsibility of the ESP to provide technical expertise regarding the rules and their interpretation to the local health departments, industry, and the public.
Program Goals
(1) Provide leadership for environmental sanitation in Utah by monitoring issues in environmental science, current environmental problems, and identifying interventions, including regulations, to protect the health of Utahns from environmental threats. This is accomplished by ensuring that Utah sanitation rules are updated as needed according to review time standards, as well as ensuring the rules adequately protect the public’s health. This is accomplished with input from local health departments, state, and industry experts regarding sanitation standards, and monitoring changes in environmental science field affecting the established rules . The program actively listens to LHDs, industry and the public for input on rules through committees set up for this purpose. Committees are created and set up according to protocols which ensures adequate representation of interested parties throughout the process. The program has oversight of the rule making process.
(2) Ensure that local health departments are meeting or exceeding minimum standards set by rules as noted during joint inspections, and are enforcing minimum standards uniformly throughout the state. This is accomplished through joint standardization exercises with local health department inspectors on a regular basis, meeting regularly with local health officials regarding environmental sanitation issues, and through providing technical expertise and rule interpretation to interested parties regarding the rule.
(3) Track data reported from local health departments for state reports. This is accomplished through requiring local health departments to report annual statistics to the Utah Department of Health, and analyzing data reported. Additionally, the goal of the ESP is to obtain environmental inspection date from the local health departments for trend analysis and effectiveness measurement of inspection programs protecting public health.
Performance Measures
(1) This is accomplished through ensuring all rules receive 5 year review, and that sanitation rules are periodically updated as needed. The number of rules updated, new, and in committee will be tracked annually, and reported.
(2) This is accomplished through conducting joint standardization inspections with local health departments at least once every three years, and answering technical questions from LHDs industry, and the public. The number of joint inspections will be tracked and reported in an annual report.
(3) This will be accomplished through requiring data be reported to UDOH from LHDs on an annual basis. The data will be analyzed, and included in an annual report. |
