SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2026        FILED ON: 1/16/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 804

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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An Act making technical corrections to chapter 530 of the 2008 session laws..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

Section 1. The third paragraph of section 51 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, inserted by the acts of 2008, is hereby amended by inserting after the sentence “A registered dental hygienist practicing as a public health dental hygienist may perform, without the supervision or direction of a dentist, in public health settings, any procedure or provide any service that is within the scope of his or her practice and that has been authorized and adopted by the board as a delegable procedure for dental hygienists in private practice under general supervision,” the following --              

“, and conduct minor emergency denture adjustments to eliminate pain and discomfort in nursing homes and other long term care facilities under general supervision.”

Section 2. The third paragraph of section 51 of chapter 112 of the General Laws, inserted by the acts of 2008, is hereby amended by striking the following language:             

“Public health settings shall include, but not be limited to, the following: residences of the homebound; schools; nursing homes and long-term care facilities; clinics, hospitals, medical facilities, community health centers and mobile and portable dental health programs licensed or certified by the department of public health; Head Start programs; and other facilities or programs deemed appropriate by the department of public health. 

And inserting the following –

“Public health settings shall include, but not be limited to: residences of the homebound; schools; nursing homes and long-term care facilities; clinics, hospitals, medical facilities, and community health centers licensed or certified by the department of public health; mobile and portable dental health programs licensed or certified by the Department of Public Health and operated by a local or state agency; Head Start programs; and other facilities or programs deemed appropriate by the department of public health;