For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
will apply:
"Applicant" means a child for whom assistance
under this program is being requested.
"Area education agency" or"AEA
" means an intermediate educational unit created by Iowa Code chapter
273.
"Audiologist" means a person licensed pursuant
to Iowa Code chapter 147 or certified by the Iowa board of educational
examiners pursuant to
282-15.3 (272) or a person
appropriately licensed in the state where the person practices.
"Audiology assistant" means a person who works
under the supervision of an Iowa-licensed speech pathologist or audiologist,
does not meet the requirements to be licensed as a speech pathologist or
audiologist, and meets the minimum requirements set forth in 645-Chapter
300.
"Audiometrist" means a technician who has
received special training in the use of pure-tone audiometry equipment. An
audiometrist conducts the hearing tests selected and interpreted by an
audiologist, who supervises the process.
"Birth center" means "birth
center" as defined in Iowa Code section
135.61.
"Birthing hospital" means a private or public
hospital licensed pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 135B that has a licensed
obstetric unit or is licensed to provide obstetric services.
"Congenital cytomegalovirus " or
"cCMV" means an infection where cytomegalovirus is transmitted
to the fetus in the prenatal period.
"Contractor" means the entity selected by the
department to act as third-party administrator for claims payment related to
hearing aids and audiologic services for children.
"Cytomegalovirus" or"CMV"
means a kind of herpes virus that usually produces very mild symptoms in an
infected person but may cause severe neurological damage in a person with a
weakened immune system and in a newborn.
"Department" means the Iowa department of
public health.
"Diagnostic audiologic assessment" means
physiologic or behavioral procedures completed by an audiologist to evaluate
and diagnose hearing loss.
"Discharge " means a release from a birthing
hospital to the parent or legal guardian of the child.
"Early ACCESS" means Iowa's Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C, program for infants and toddlers. It
is a statewide, comprehensive, interagency system of integrated early
intervention services that supports eligible children and their families as
defined in 281-Chapter 120.
"Early hearing detection and intervention advisory
committee" or"EHDI advisory committee " means the
committee appointed by the department to advise the director of the department
regarding issues related to hearing health care for children and to make
recommendations about the design and implementation of the early hearing
detection and intervention program.
"Guardian " means a person who is not the
parent of a minor child, but who has legal authority to make decisions
regarding life or program issues for the child. A guardian may be a court or a
juvenile court. "Guardian" does not mean conservator, as defined in Iowa Code
section
633.3,
although a person who is appointed to be a guardian may also be appointed to be
a conservator.
"Health care professional" means a licensed
physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, certified midwife,
registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, patient care technician, certified
nursing assistant, licensed audiologist, audiology assistant, audiometrist,
hearing aid specialist, speech-language pathologist or other licensed or
certified professional for whom hearing screening is within the professional's
scope of practice.
"Hearing loss" means a permanent unilateral or
bilateral hearing loss of greater than 30 dB HL in the frequency region
important for speech recognition (500-4000 Hz).
"Hearing screening " means a physiological
measurement of hearing of a newborn or infant with a "pass" or "refer" result.
Screening is used to determine the newborn's or infant's need for further
testing and must be performed bilaterally, when applicable.
"Initial screening" or"newborn hearing
screening" means a screening performed in a birthing hospital, birth
center or facility other than a birthing hospital within the first month of
life.
"Newborn hearing screening " means a
physiological test to separate those newborns with normal hearing from those
newborns who may have hearing thresholds of greater than 30 dB HL in either ear
in the frequency region important for speech recognition (500-4000 Hz).
"Normal hearing " means hearing thresholds in
both ears of 30 dB HL or less in the frequency region important for speech
recognition (500-4000 Hz).
"Parent" means:
1. A biological or adoptive parent of a child;
2. A guardian, but not the state if the child is a ward of the
state;
3. A person acting in the place of a parent, such as a
grandparent or stepparent with whom a child lives, or a person who is legally
responsible for the child's welfare;
4. A surrogate parent who has been assigned in accordance with
281-120.68 ( 34CFR 303); or
5. A foster parent, if:
* A biological parent's authority to make the decisions
required of parents under state law has been terminated; and
* The foster parent has an ongoing, long-term parental
relationship with the child; is willing to make the decisions required of a
parent; and has no interest that would conflict with the interests of the
child.
"Physician " means an individual licensed
under Iowa Code chapter 148, 150, or 150A.
"Primary care provider" means a licensed
physician, nurse practitioner, physician assistant or certified midwife who
undertakes primary pediatric care responsibility for an infant or child to
provide ongoing medical care and referrals to promote overall health and
well-being.
"Protocol" means a document which guides
decision making and provides the criteria to be used regarding screening,
diagnosis, management, and treatment of children related to hearing health
care. Early hearing detection and intervention protocols not otherwise
specified in this chapter are available on the department's website atwww.idph.iowa.gov.
"Provider " means a licensed audiologist,
otolaryngologist or hearing aid specialist who agrees to provide hearing aids
or audiologic services to eligible patients.
"Rescreen " means a newborn hearing screening
performed after two weeks of age on an infant who did not pass the initial
screening.
"Resident" means an individual who is a legal
resident of the state of Iowa.
