Utah Administrative Code R432-100 — General Hospital Standards (Pest Management Provisions)

Correction Notice (September 12, 2026)

Three errors on this page have been corrected against the rule text as published by the Utah Office of Administrative Rules:

Citation

Utah Administrative Code R432-100, General Hospital Standards. Promulgated by the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Health Care Facility Licensing. Authorizing law: Sections 26B-1-202, 26B-2-202, 26B-2-203. Section R432-100-38, “Maintenance Services,” subsection (1)(d) contains the operative pest management provision for Utah-licensed hospitals. Date of last change: June 5, 2026. Notice of Continuation: August 22, 2025.

Official copies exposed by the Utah Office of Administrative Rules portal API: rule page · PDF · HTML.

What It Says (Verbatim)

R432-100-38 Maintenance Services, subsection (1)(d):

“The licensee shall ensure a pest-control program is conducted to ensure the hospital is free from any vermin or rodent.”

This is the operative pest management sentence in the Utah hospital licensure framework. It establishes a direct requirement that every Utah-licensed hospital maintain a pest-control program, and it states the outcome that program must achieve.

Surrounding subsection context (verbatim, R432-100-38 in full):

“(1)(a) The licensee shall provide maintenance services to ensure that hospital equipment and grounds are maintained in a clean and sanitary condition and in a state of good repair for the safety and well-being of patients, staff, and visitors. (b) The administrator shall employ a person qualified by experience and training to oversee hospital maintenance. (c) If the licensee contracts for maintenance services, the licensee shall secure a signed and dated agreement that details the services provided. (d) The licensee shall ensure a pest-control program is conducted to ensure the hospital is free from any vermin or rodent. (e) The licensee shall maintain each entrance, exit, step, ramp, and outside walkway in a safe condition regarding snow, ice, and other hazards. (2) The licensee shall test, calibrate, and maintain any patient care equipment in accordance with the specifications from the manufacturer and make testing frequency and calibration documentation, whether conducted internally or by an outside agency, available for department review. (3) The licensee shall ensure hot water at public and patient faucets is delivered between 105 to 120 degrees F.”

Two things follow from reading the whole section rather than the one sentence. First, (1)(c) means a hospital that contracts its pest control must hold a signed, dated agreement detailing the services provided — a documentation requirement distinct from the program requirement in (1)(d). Second, (1)(a)‘s “clean and sanitary condition … for the safety and well-being of patients, staff, and visitors” is the general standard the pest provision sits inside, and it reaches grounds as well as the building.

The adjacent housekeeping section, R432-100-37(1), verbatim:

“The licensee shall provide housekeeping services to maintain a clean, safe, sanitary, and healthy environment in the hospital.”

Pest management is also reached indirectly through R432-100-31 (pets), R432-100-32(4) (dietary sanitation, which incorporates Rule R392-100), and R432-100-37 (housekeeping).

What It Means in Plain Language

Utah is one of the few U.S. states with an explicit pest-control mandate written into hospital licensing regulation. Many states address pest control only by inference through general infection prevention or facility maintenance standards. Utah’s R432-100-38(1)(d) is direct: every Utah-licensed hospital must have an active pest-control program, and that program must keep the hospital free from any vermin or rodent.

The provision is intentionally non-prescriptive about how the pest-control program must be structured:

• No specific applicator credential is required
• No specific program documentation format is mandated
• No specific monitoring frequency is required
• No specific pest threshold definitions are required
• No specific intervention hierarchy (IPM versus calendar-based chemical application) is required

These operational specifics flow from the broader regulatory environment: CDC HICPAC standards of care, accreditation framework expectations (Joint Commission, DNV-GL, HFAP, CIHQ), OSHA pesticide handling requirements, Utah R68-7 pesticide applicator licensure requirements, and Utah Food Code adoption (which governs hospital food service pest control).

The practical implication for Utah hospitals:

Utah-licensed hospitals must be able to demonstrate to Utah Department of Health and Human Services licensing surveyors that a pest-control program exists and is conducted. Documentation typically includes:

• A written pest management plan
• Service contracts with pest management vendors (or evidence of in-house program structure)
• Service records demonstrating program execution
• Trend reporting demonstrating program effectiveness
• Coordination with infection prevention and environmental services

Utah surveyors typically defer to broader standards of care (HICPAC, accrediting body standards) when evaluating program adequacy beyond the bare existence requirement.

Who It Applies To

R432-100 applies to all hospitals licensed by Utah Department of Health and Human Services. This includes:

• General acute-care hospitals
• Critical access hospitals
• Psychiatric hospitals
• Rehabilitation hospitals

Long-term care facilities are governed by separate Utah administrative rules (R432-150 series). Ambulatory surgery centers are governed by separate rules (R432-500 series). Skilled nursing facilities are governed by R432-150.

R432-100 binds Utah-licensed facilities through state licensure. Out-of-state hospitals are governed by their respective state hospital licensing frameworks, which vary substantially in pest-control specificity.

Documentation Evidence Required

For Utah hospital compliance with R432-100-38(1)(d):

• Written pest management plan addressing the facility’s pest-control program structure
• Service contract or in-house program documentation
• Service records demonstrating program execution
• Trend reporting demonstrating program effectiveness over time
• Integration documentation with infection prevention and environmental services
• Applicator credential verification. Note that R432-100-38(1)(d) itself names no credential; the licensure floor comes from Utah R68-7, not from this rule.
• If pest control is contracted: the signed, dated services agreement required by R432-100-38(1)(c)

How Surveyors Evaluate It

Utah Department of Health and Human Services hospital licensing surveyors evaluate R432-100-38(1)(d) compliance during routine licensure surveys (typically every two years) and during complaint-driven surveys. Surveyors evaluate:

• Existence of a written pest management plan
• Active execution of the pest-control program (service records, trend reports)
• Absence of observed vermin or rodent activity during physical inspection
• Coordination with infection prevention
• Applicator credential verification

Surveyors typically do not prescribe specific program structure; they evaluate whether the requirement that the hospital be “free from any vermin or rodent” is being met operationally.

Common findings: missing or outdated pest management plan documentation, gaps in service records, observed pest activity during physical inspection, lack of trend reporting demonstrating program effectiveness, and inadequate integration with infection prevention.

Confidence Notes

HIGH confidence as of September 12, 2026. Raised from MEDIUM. The full text of R432-100 as rendered by the Utah Office of Administrative Rules is now held in this reference’s primary-source archive (Utah_AdminCode_R432-100_GeneralHospitalStandards_LastChange_2026-06-05.txt, captured from adminrules.utah.gov on September 11, 2026). Every quotation on this page was read from that capture: the section number, the section heading, the full text of R432-100-38, R432-100-37(1), the amendment date, and the authorizing law.

The earlier MEDIUM rating reflected that surrounding subsection structure had been taken from Cornell LII and Justia aggregators rather than the primary source. That is what produced the three errors corrected above — the aggregator-derived section number, date, and paraphrased quotation were all wrong. No text on this page now rests on a secondary aggregator.

Related Killed Claims

• “Utah hospital licensing requires Board Certified Entomologists for pest management programs.” Disconfirmed. R432-100-38(1)(d) does not specify any applicator credential. The provision requires a pest-control program but does not name BCE, ACE, or any other specific credential.

• “R432-100-38 specifies pest threshold definitions for Utah hospitals.” Disconfirmed. The provision is non-prescriptive about program structure. Threshold definitions, monitoring frequency, and intervention hierarchy flow from broader standards of care (HICPAC, EPA IPM Toolkit, accrediting body standards), not from R432-100-38 itself.

• “Utah school IPM requirements at R392-200-7(12) also apply to Utah hospitals.” Disconfirmed. R392-200-18 (the correct citation for Utah school IPM, not R392-200-7(12)) applies specifically to schools, not to hospitals. Hospital pest management in Utah is governed by R432-100-38(1)(d) for licensed hospitals and by R432-150 series rules for skilled nursing facilities.

• “The Utah hospital pest provision is R432-100-39.” Disconfirmed on September 12, 2026, and carried on this page until that date. R432-100-39 is Emergency Operations Plan. The pest provision is R432-100-38(1)(d).

• “The rule requires the hospital to be free from vermin and rodents.” Disconfirmed as a quotation. The rule says “free from any vermin or rodent.” The paraphrase was rendered inside quotation marks on this page until September 12, 2026.