Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - OAR 333-027, 035, 071, 500, 505, and 535 - "Workplace Violence Prevention Safety Requirements in Healthcare Settings and Administrative Updates"
The Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division, Health Care Regulation and Quality Improvement section is amending and adopting administrative rules in OAR chapter 333, divisions 027, 035, 071, 500, 505 and 535 in response to the passage of SB 537 (2025 OL ch. 535, §9, 12-13). Key updates include:
Home Health Agencies, Hospice Programs, Special Inpatient Care Facilities
- Adopting and implementing policies and procedures to identify and assess health and safety-related risks to staff and providing that information to staff responsible for providing services;
- Providing workplace training to all personnel;
- Conducting safety assessments;
- Implementing client identification processes;
- Creating safety check-in processes; and
- Implementing the use of visual flagging and electronic health record flagging for purposes of identifying persons that may pose a potential threat or who have disruptive behavior.
Hospitals
- Implementing the use of visual flagging and electronic health record flagging for purposes of identifying persons that may pose a potential threat or who have disruptive behavior;
- Requiring bullet-resistant emergency room intake window in hospitals when under new construction or undergoing renovations; and
- Prohibiting requiring staff last name to be included on name badge.
Additional regulatory changes include removing outdated language and allowing greater flexibility for a home health agency to serve a larger service area when serving a historically underserved population. Also, in alignment with hospital rules, the rules propose requiring a home health agency, hospice program or special inpatient care facility (SICF) to conduct an equity analysis of populations that may be impacted by a request to waive an administrative rule and provide steps to mitigate possible impacts to disproportionately affected populations. Due to passage of SB 965 (2023 Oregon Laws, ch. 199), confidentiality provisions were added for filing a complaint about a hospice program, and procedures clarified for employees reporting possible violations of rules.
For more details, including a description of each rule's proposed changes, the Statement of Need and Fiscal and Racial Equity Impacts, and the full text of the proposed rules select the following link:
Persons are invited to review and comment on the proposed rules. There are two (2) options to provide comment:
1) You may provide oral (spoken) testimony during a public hearing scheduled on
Tuesday, December 16, 2025, at 10:00 A.M. Pacific Time via video/phone conference using Microsoft Teams.
- To provide oral testimony during this hearing:
- Join using the
Meeting URL. You can also find the join link for the meeting in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under “Remote Meeting Details” using the “Meeting URL."
- You may also contact the Public Health Division Rules Coordinator at
publichealth.rules@odhsoha.oregon.gov to sign-up to give oral testimony and receive the link for the Microsoft Teams video conference via calendar appointment.
- To join the hearing via phone (audio/listen only), you may dial 971-277-2343, phone conference ID 593 652 434#
2) Written comments may be submitted
before 5:00 P.M. Pacific Time on December 22, 2025:- Email comments to:
publichealth.rules@odhsoha.oregon.gov
- Mail comments* to: OHA - Public Health Division
Brittany Hall, Administrative Rules Coordinator
800 NE Oregon St. Suite 930
Portland, OR 97232
- Send comments by fax to 971-673-1299
Final rules will be filed after consideration of all comments.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - OAR 333-020, 077, 505, and 530 - "Newborn Cytomegalovirus Screening and Diagnosis"
The Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division is proposing to amend Oregon Administrative Rules (OARs) in chapter 333, division 20, “Early Hearing Detection and Intervention" and adopt new rules in this division to reorganize and update rules relating to hearing screening requirements. Additionally, the Public Health Division is proposing to adopt new rules in OAR in chapter 333, division 20 relating to the passage of HB 2685 (Oregon Laws 2025, Chapter 488) during the 2025 legislative session and permanently amend OAR 333, division 077 relating to birthing centers and OAR 333, divisions 505 and 520 relating to hospitals to ensure compliance with new congenital cytomegalovirus screening requirements. Information about this rulemaking including how to comment on these proposed rules can be found by selecting the link below:
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking - OAR 333-071, 500, 501 and 503 - "Changes to hospital licensing fees, investigations, surveys and staffing requirements due to 2025 legislation"
The Health Care Regulation and Quality Improvement (HCRQI) section is proposing to permanently amend and repeal Oregon Administrative Rules in chapter 333, divisions 71, 500, 501 and 503 to implement changes due to passage of SB 842 (
2025 OL chapter 623) and HB 3294 (
2025 OL chapter 506). These rules address the following changes due to passage of these measures:
- Removes definition for the term 'full compliance survey' that is only used in rules that are being repealed.
- Amends hospital licensing fees and adds a late fee for failing to submit its license renewal application and fee before December 1 of each year. (Per ORS 442.015, a hospital is defined to include a special inpatient care facility as defined by the OHA in rule.)
- Removes language that allows the OHA to charge separate fees for complaint investigations and compliance surveys.
- Clarifies that information received during the receipt and review of a complaint prior to or in lieu of an investigation is confidential.
- Removes hospital staffing enforcement language allowing OHA to determine violations and issue warnings and civil penalties in accordance with ORS 441.792.
For more details, including a description of each rule's proposed changes, please see the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, including the Statement of Need and Fiscal and Racial Equity Impacts, and the full text of the proposed rules:
Members of the public are invited to review and comment on the proposed rules. There are two (2) options to provide comment:
1) You may provide oral (spoken) testimony during a public hearing scheduled on
Wednesday, November 19, 2025, at 11:00 A.M. Pacific Time via video/phone conference using Microsoft Teams.
- To provide oral testimony during this hearing:
- Join using the
Meeting URL. You can also find the join link for the meeting in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under “Remote Meeting Details” using the “Meeting URL."
- You may also contact the Public Health Division Rules Coordinator at
publichealth.rules@odhsoha.oregon.gov to sign-up to give oral testimony and receive the link for the Microsoft Teams video conference via calendar appointment.
- To join the hearing via phone (audio/listen only), you may dial 971-277-2343, phone conference ID 769 353 904#
2) Written comments may be submitted before
5:00 P.M. Pacific Time on November 21, 2025:
- Email comments to:
publichealth.rules@odhsoha.oregon.gov
- Mail comments* to: OHA - Public Health Division
Brittany Hall, Administrative Rules Coordinator
800 NE Oregon St. Suite 930
Portland, OR 97232
*Comments sent by regular mail must be postmarked by 5:00 P.M. Pacific Time on November 21, 2025.
- Send comments by fax to 971-673-1299
Final rules will be filed after consideration of all comments.
Health Licensing Office publishes FAQ for sign language interpreter medical licenses
During the 2025 Legislative Session,
SB 950 (2025) was passed and signed into law by the Governor on May 28, 2025. The new law repeals the sign language interpreter (SLI) medical license, effective January 1, 2026. However, any SLI medical license issued between June 8, 2024, and December 31, 2025, will remain valid through January 1, 2029, allowing the SLI an additional three years to practice in settings determined by the
Oregon Board of Sign Language Interpreters. Settings will be established in rules as of January 1, 2026.
Beginning January 1, 2026, the SLI medical licenses will no longer be issued or renewed due to SB 950 (2025), which repeals these licenses.
To support license holders and the public in understanding these changes, HLO has published a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
News regarding the Board of Sign Language Interpreters can be found
here.
Accessibility Statement: For individuals with disabilities or individuals who speak a language other than English, OHA can provide free help. Some examples are sign language and spoken language interpreters, real-time captioning, braille, large print, audio, and written materials in other languages. If you need help with these services, please contact the Public Health Administrative Rules Coordinator at 971-673-1222, 711 TTY or
publichealth.rules@odhsoha.oregon.gov at least 48 hours before the meeting. All relay calls are accepted. To best ensure our ability to provide a modification please contact us if you are considering attending the meeting and require a modification. The earlier you make a request the more likely we can meet the need.