Tennessee § 41-51-102 - Exposure to infectious diseases by inmates.

§ 41-51-102. Exposure to infectious diseases by inmates.

It is the intent of the general assembly to protect the health and safety of the citizens of Tennessee through control of the spread of infectious diseases. The purpose of this section is to require a correctional institution to inform an employee, contract employee or visitor of the infectious disease status of an inmate if the person has potentially been exposed to an infectious disease by the inmate. For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: “Bloodborne pathogen” means the pathogenic microorganism that is present in human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include, but are not limited to, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); “Exposure incident” means a specific eye, mouth, other mucous membrane, skin or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious material that results from the performance of an employee's duties or during a visit to a correctional institution, county or municipal jail or workhouse; and “Source individual” means any inmate, living or dead, involved in an exposure incident. Following a report of an exposure incident, a superintendent, director or warden of a correctional institution, county or municipal jail or workhouse shall test the source individual, or source individuals, with or without the source individual's consent, to determine bloodborne pathogen infectivity. The superintendent, director or warden of the penitentiary, correctional institution, county or municipal jail or workhouse shall disclose the results of the testing to each correctional employee, law enforcement officer or visitor who was involved in the exposure incident and who reasonably believes that that person may have been exposed to a serious or life-threatening disease or pathogen. Disclosure of the inmate's test results to the correctional employee or law enforcement officer shall occur no later than twenty-four (24) hours after the results are known by the proper correctional officials, unless, following a reasonable effort, all employees or officers exposed cannot be notified within that twenty-four hour period. This section does not authorize the release of confidential information to members of the public in violation of § 10-7-504. For the purposes of this section, any person informed of the results of any inmate's test for infectious diseases shall treat the information received as confidential. Acts 1996, ch. 806, § 1; 2002, ch. 709, § 1. Cross-References. Confidentiality of public records, § 10-7-504 . Law Reviews. Sex in Prison (Ronald G. Turner), 36 No. 8 Tenn. B.J. 12 (2000).