Section 216-RICR-40-10-25.2 - DefinitionsA. Wherever used in this Part the following terms shall be construed as follows:1. "Change in owner" means a transfer by the governing body or operator of a harm reduction center to any other person (excluding delegations of authority to the medical or administrative staff of the facility) of the governing body's authority to: a. Hire or fire the Harm Reduction Center Director and/or the Medical Director;b. Maintain and control the books and records of the Harm Reduction Center;c. Dispose of assets and incur liabilities on behalf of the Harm Reduction Center; ord. Adopt and enforce policies regarding operation of the Harm Reduction Center.2. "Case manager" means a person that coordinates and links care across community-based health and social services organizations. A case manager identifies and secures the necessary resources, equipment, and supplies from formal and informal sources including professionals, paraprofessionals, volunteers, family and friends.3. "Client" means a person who utilizes the services of a Harm Reduction Center.4. "Department" or "RIDOH" means the Rhode Island Department of Health.5. "Director" means the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health or his or her designee.6. "Drug consumption" means smoking, injecting, snorting, inhaling, swallowing, or otherwise consuming pre-obtained, controlled substances.7. "Harm reduction center" or "Center" means a community-based resource for health screening, disease prevention, and recovery assistance where persons may consume pre-obtained controlled substances in a non-judgmental, supportive environment.8. "Harm reduction education" means education on practical strategies aimed to reduce behaviors associated with negative consequences associated with drug use including but not limited to infections, overdose, other illness and death.9. "Harm reduction services" means practical strategies and evidence-based approaches aimed at reducing behaviors associated with negative consequences associated with drug use, such as: safe smoking practices, safe injection practices, using with others, use of clean needles and syringes, etc.10. "Licensed capacity" means the number of drug consumption stations a center is licensed to operate within the Center.11. "Medical director" means a physician licensed to practice medicine in Rhode Island in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-37.12. "Mental health counselor" means a person who has been licensed to provide clinical counseling in accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-63.2.13. "Temporary service site" means a non-permanent, temporary location where a Harm Reduction Center operates using a mobile unit or shortterm unit.14. "Mobile unit" means a Harm Reduction Center that can move location, such as a van or a bus.15. "Municipal authorization and approval" means an express affirmative vote by the city or town council, or the equivalent governing body, of any municipality where a fixed, mobile, or shot-term Harm Reduction Center is proposed to be located, which the affirmative vote approves the opening and operation of the Harm Reduction Center.16. "Nurse" means an individual licensed to practice as a professional (registered)(RN) or licensed practical nurse (LPN) in Rhode Island pursuant the provisions of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 5-34.17. "Opioid" means any opiate, synthetic or natural, or opium derivative, listed in R.I. Gen. Laws § 21-28-2.08.18. "Opioid antagonist" means a drug used to reverse the effects of opioids, such a naloxone hydrochloride, commonly referred to as naloxone, which is a competitive antagonist that binds to opioid receptors with higher affinity than agonists but does not activate the receptors. For the purposes of this Part, opioid antagonist does not include any drugs, such as naltrexone hydrochloride, used for addiction treatment.19. "Overdose" means a condition including, but not limited to, extreme physical illness, decreased level of consciousness, respiratory depression, coma, or death resulting from the consumption or use of an opioid, or another controlled substance. This would include an overdose that requires medical assistance, clinical suspicion for drug overdose (respiratory depression, unconsciousness, altered mental status) and either a urine toxicology screen positive for opiates or negative urine toxicology screen without other conditions to explain the clinical condition.20. "Peer" is a person with lived experience with substance use.21. "Person" means any individual, trust or estate, partnership, corporation (including associations, joint stock companies), limited liability company, State, or political subdivision or instrumentality of the State.22. "Premises" means a tract of land and the buildings thereon where harm reduction services are provided.23. "Smoking" or "smoke" means inhaling, exhaling, burning, vaporizing, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, pipe, plant, tobacco product, pharmacologically active chemical, or other combustible substance in any manner or in any form. "Smoking" or "smoke" also includes the use of electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic pipes, and any other electronic vaporization devices.24. "Short-term unit" (less than one hundred eighty (180) days) means a Harm Reduction Center or component of a Harm Reduction Center thereof that does not have a permanent, fixed location, such as a tent.216 R.I. Code R. § 216-RICR-40-10-25.2
Adopted effective 2/16/2022