The mission of the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department is to protect and improve the health of Butte-Silver Bow residents. Our vision is for Butte-Silver Bow to be Montana’s healthiest county.
Our Core Values
Respect, Quality, Service, Stewardship, Vision, Integrity, Leadership, Innovation, and Science
Success by the Numbers
21,642
That’s the number of activities — clients served, establishments inspected, communicable diseases reported — by the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department in FY17.
AN ACT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION BASED ON A PERSON'S VACCINATION STATUS OR POSSESSION OF AN IMMUNITY PASSPORT; PROVIDING AN EXCEPTION AND AN EXEMPTION; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING EFFECTIVE DATES.
WHEREAS, as stated in section 50-16-502, MCA, the Legislature finds that "health care information is personal and sensitive information that if improperly used or released may do significant harm to a patient's interests in privacy and health care or other interests"; and
WHEREAS, the Montana Supreme Court in State v. Nelson, 283 Mont. 231, 941 P.2d 441 (1997), concluded that "medical records fall within the zone of privacy protected by Article II, section 10, of the Montana Constitution" and "are quintessentially private and deserve the utmost constitutional protection".
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Discrimination based on vaccination status or possession of immunity passport prohibited -- definitions. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for:
(a) a person or a governmental entity to refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any local or state services, goods, facilities, advantages, privileges, licensing, educational opportunities, health care access, or employment opportunities based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport;
(b) an employer to refuse employment to a person, to bar a person from employment, or to discriminate against a person in compensation or in a term, condition, or privilege of employment based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport; or
(c) a public accommodation to exclude, limit, segregate, refuse to serve, or otherwise discriminate against a person based on the person's vaccination status or whether the person has an immunity passport.
(2) This section does not apply to vaccination requirements set forth for schools pursuant to Title 20, chapter 5, part 4, or day-care facilities pursuant to Title 52, chapter 2, part 7.
(3) (a) A person, governmental entity, or an employer does not unlawfully discriminate under this section if they recommend that an employee receive a vaccine.
(b) A health care facility, as defined in 50-5-101, does not unlawfully discriminate under this section if it complies with both of the following:
(i) asks an employee to volunteer the employee’s vaccination or immunization status for the purpose of determining whether the health care facility should implement reasonable accommodation measures to protect the safety and health of employees, patients, visitors, and other persons from communicable diseases. A health care facility may consider an employee to be nonvaccinated or nonimmune if the employee declines to provide the employee’s vaccination or immunization status to the health care facility for purposes of determining whether reasonable accommodation measures should be implemented.
(ii) implements reasonable accommodation measures for employees, patients, visitors, and other persons who are not vaccinated or not immune to protect the safety and health of employees, patients, visitors, and other persons from communicable diseases.
(4) An individual may not be required to receive any vaccine whose use is allowed under an emergency use authorization or any vaccine undergoing safety trials.
(5) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Immunity passport" means a document, digital record, or software application indicating that a person is immune to a disease, either through vaccination or infection and recovery.
(b) "Vaccination status" means an indication of whether a person has received one or more doses of a vaccine.
Section 2. Exemption. A licensed nursing home, long-term care facility, or assisted living facility is exempt from compliance with [section 1] during any period of time that compliance with [section 1] would result in a violation of regulations or guidance issued by the centers for medicare and medicaid services or the centers for disease control and prevention.
ENROLLED BILL
Section 3. Appropriation. There is appropriated $200 from the general fund to the department of labor and industry for the biennium beginning July 1, 2021, for the purposes of:
(1) notifying local boards of health of the requirements of [section 1] and requiring local boards of health to prominently display notice of the requirements of [section 1] on the home page of their website, if available, for at least 6 months after [the effective date of this act]; and
(2) requiring the department of public health and human services to prominently display notice of the requirements of [section 1] on the home page of the department's website for at least 6 months after [the effective date of this act].
Section 4. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 and 2] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 49, chapter 2, part 3, and the provisions of Title 49, chapter 2, part 3, apply to [sections 1 and 2].
Section 5. Severability. If a part of [this act] is invalid, all valid parts that are severable from the invalid part remain in effect. If a part of [this act] is invalid in one or more of its applications, the part remains in effect in all valid applications that are severable from the invalid applications.
Section 6. Effective date. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), [this act] is effective on passage and approval.
(2) [Section 3] is effective July 1, 2021.
Have you ever wondered what we do at the Butte-Silver Bow Health Department? Check out our mock-umentary to find out...
The goal of the program is to prevent the spread of communicable diseases (e.g., hepatitis A, bacterial meningitis, food borne illness, etc.) in the community.
Emergencies and disasters can strike anywhere and at any time. Yous may be required to deal with an emergency when it is least expected and proper planning before an emergency is necessary to respond effectively.
Our Family Planning Clinic provides reproductive and sexual health services for men and women. Services also focus on preventing or achieving pregnancy. Services include those that can influence a person’s ability to conceive or to have a healthy birth outcome, including contraceptive services to prevent or space pregnancies, pregnancy testing and counseling, services to assist in achieving pregnancy, basic infertility services, preconception health services, and screening and treatment services for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. All services are provided on a sliding fee schedule and are confidential.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), through its Food and Consumer Safety Section, issues licenses for retail food establishments, wholesale food establishments, public accommodations, public swimming pools and spas, trailer courts and campgrounds, group homes, and daycare centers.
WIC is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program designed to improve health outcomes and influence lifetime nutrition and health behaviors in a targeted, at-risk population