 |
Mountain State University recognizes that Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), AIDS Related Complex (ARC), and a positive test for the HIV antibody do not pose a health risk to other students or employees in an academic setting. For the purpose of this policy, an infected individual includes an individual diagnosed as having ARC, or an individual who is determined to be positive for the HIV antibody but who has not developed the symptoms of AIDS or ARC. It is the University's policy to balance the rights of AIDS victims to an education and employment at the University against the rights of other students and employees to an environment in which they are protected from contracting the disease. In the context of these procedures, students and employees are expected to uphold the same standards of conduct and act in accordance with policies and procedures outlined.
I. Admission, Access, and Attendance
Mountain State University views AIDS, ARC, and HIV infections as a protected handicap or disability under federal and state laws and will treat the individual as having a handicap or disability. The University will offer students with AIDS the same opportunity and benefits offered to other students, which include access to educational programs, services, employment opportunities, financial assistance, facilities, activities, and organizations. The person will not be isolated by the University unless the individual poses a scientifically proven risk to employees or students. This determination will be made by medical professionals in consultation with the University's Committee on AIDS.
II. Confidentiality
Mountain State University respects the individual's right for confidentiality of information about his/her personal afflictions or disabling conditions and will treat all related information in strict confidentiality. The University will be governed by federal and state privacy laws, institutional policies, and disease reporting requirements determined by county health departments and the West Virginia State Health Department.
The Family Educational and Right to Privacy Act of 1974 (Buckley Amendment) provides that, with few exceptions, no personally identifiable information contained in the student's educational record can be released without the consent of the student or parent if the student is under 18 years of age. Although information that a student has AIDS would generally not be a part of the student's educational records, federal laws governing the release of information would apply if the information is used to make decisions relative to the student's educational record.
Disclosures may be made only to the student of the test; persons who secure a specific release of the test results executed by the student; a funeral director; licensed medical personnel providing care to the subject, but only to the extent that such is medically necessary; the Department of Health or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; certain health facilities, including those that handle organs, blood, or bodily fluids of the subject; the Committee on AIDS; and those obtaining access pursuant to a court order.
There is no medical nor other reason for the University to advise students on campus, including those in residence halls, of the presence of students with HIV infection. In addition, the University will not reveal the identity of students or employees with HIV infection in any other setting.
In some circumstances, there may be reasonable concern for the health of students with immune deficiencies when those students might be exposed to certain contagious disease in a close living situation. When there is flexibility to provide a private room, the University may wish to recommend that students with immune deficiencies be assigned private rooms in order to protect the health of the student with immunodeficient syndrome-not to protect other students from him/her.
III. Education
Mountain State University is committed to providing the University community at large with education regarding the nature and transmission of the disease for the community's protection, and the rights of those with AIDS. It is the institution's belief that education can provide some control over the spread of the disease and better help the public reasonably respond to this disease.
Presently, knowledge indicates that students or employees with AIDS, ARC, or a positive HIV antibody test do not pose a health risk in an academic or employment setting. There is no substantive evidence to indicate that AIDS can be spread by casual contact.
Available evidence demonstrates that HIV requires direct passage through body fluids to cause the infection. It is recognized that the greatest risk apparently lies in the use of contaminated syringes or exposure via intimate contact with a partner. Through education, the University will better provide a safer environment for students and employees, as well as increase awareness to inhibit further spread of the disease.
IV. Committee on AIDS
The University will be flexible in responding to incidents of the disease. Each occurrence will be evaluated using the latest available information. The committee, appointed by the President, will be responsible for handling a specific AIDS case on an individual basis and coordinating the University's efforts to educate the University community on the nature of AIDS. The committee will be responsible for reviewing the University's means of providing education to students and employees, as well as meeting as needed to consider an individual occurrence of the disease and recommend appropriate action. The committee will also ensure communication of information, educational programming, counseling and referral services, external agencies, and other support services.
V. Medical Care
The University will not ask students or employees to respond to questions about the existence of HIV infection. If this information is voluntarily provided, like any other medical information, it will be handled in a strictly confidential manner. The following recommendations pertain to the provision of clinical services to people with HIV infection:
- Contagious disease. Special precautions to protect the health of immunologically compromised individuals should be applied during prevalence of certain casually contagious diseases such as measles and chicken pox.
- Immunizations. Persons known to have HIV infection should receive measles and rubella vaccination and need not be exempted from institutional requirements for those vaccinations. Current recommendations state that in persons with HIV infection other immunizations have potentially serious consequences.
The University will not undertake programs of mandatory testing of either employees or students for HIV antibody nor will this test be included in health examinations that may be required.
VI. Safety Precautions
Mountain State University adopts the following safety guidelines as proposed by the United States Public Health Services for the handling of blood and body fluids of all persons, not just those known previously to have HIV infection. These "universal precautions" are necessary because many people with HIV infection are not identified in advance. The same procedure should thus be followed for the handling of blood and body fluids of any student or employee.
- Public Health Service procedures. In order to prevent the accidental transmission of HIV in health care settings, the University's School of Health Sciences will implement current recommendations from the Public Health Service for infection control except to the extent limited by state law and will monitor compliance with these procedures. The University will provide educational programs about HIV infection and its transmission in health care settings to all clinical personnel and students. All health sciences personnel and students are to be familiar with recommended infection control procedures and follow them consistently.
- Teaching laboratories. The University will implement the current recommendation from the Public Health Service safety guidelines for handling blood and body fluids in teaching laboratories. Laboratory courses requiring exposure to blood, such as biology and health science courses in which students and personnel come in contact with blood and body fluids, will use disposable equipment, and no bloodletting or body fluid devices should be reused or shared. No students are required to obtain or process the blood and body fluids of others without direct supervision of health science personnel. Health students and health science personnel in the clinical affiliates are expected to follow the universal precautions as prescribed by the clinical affiliate's policies and procedures. In the event of exposure to the blood or body fluids of another individual in the clinical setting, the student and faculty/preceptor will complete the appropriate incident forms according to the clinical affiliate's policies and procedures and the program's policies and procedures as defined in the program handbook.
- Services. The Student Services Office will provide support services through which concerned students are advised of community resources available for further assistance.
- Harassment. Mountain State University will condemn known occurrences of harassment of students who are known to be or suspected of being infected with HIV. Such occurrences are considered intolerable, and those accused of harassment will be subject to proceedings as defined by the Student Responsibilities and Appeals Procedures.
|
