The Illinois Birth Center Task Force has been informed that the 2nd Notice for RULES for Birth Centers has been posted.
ALMOST ALL of the recommendations for change to the 1st Notice
proposed Rules have been accepted! GOOD RESULTS for advocacy!!!
The Highlights:
- Fire Code (LSC) requirements as “Ambulatory Health Care Occupancy” was removed. Now is Business Occupancy. (This is a biggie – as it removes many of the construction requirements.
- Fee for permit lowered to $500.00 + $100 for each bed.
- Requirement for nursing station as security checkpoint, room call system, room temp controls, electrical outlets, toilets, etc. all removed.
- Some clinical issues clarified- i.e.,: induction of labor “by pharmacologic agents not allowed (meaning induction by AROM is ok)
There are still a few issues that the Birth Center Task Force will address:
- History of PPH to be further clarified as an exclusion factor
- Clarify management of pregnant “walk-in” patients for transfer
- Definition of “health-related field” to be removed. This is of great concern, as the IDPH defined “health-related field” as an RN or LPN. This relates to who is qualified as “birth assistant”- the second person required at a birth. The wording of the bill is very specific so that Certified Professional Midwives, Certified Nurse Assistants, Certified Medical Assistants, or Physician Assistant could NOT serve as the second individual in the birth room (other than CNM or MD). We believe this definition was added in somewhere in the drafting of the 1st Notice- and apparently it was overlooked during our initial analysis.
Follow the links below to get to the public Google Document. (Please be patient and let the entire document download.)
See the IDPH REVIEW AND SUMMARY / SECOND NOTICE which includes
comments and changes
See the announcement for SECOND NOTICE RULES FOR BIRTH CENTERS
Review the FIRST NOTICE RULES FOR BIRTH CENTERS (this is necessary for comparison purposes)
The Rules are scheduled to be reviewed and approved at the March 8, 2011 meeting of the Joint Committee for Administrative Rules (JCAR).
If you feel strongly about the 2nd Notice (particularly regarding the
definition of “health care worker”), you can respond to the SECOND
NOTICE via phone call or e-mail or written letter to:
Susan Meister
Division of Legal Services
Illinois Department of Public Health
535 West Jefferson St., 5th Floor
Springfield, Illinois 62761
Phone: 217/782-2043
Fax: 217)557-8617
e-mail: dph.rules@illinois.gov
THANK YOU to all who responded to our request for ACTION! It worked!!!!!!!
