26 Tex. Admin. Code § 503.2 - Definitions
The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Act--Texas Birthing
Center Licensing Act, Health and Safety Code, Chapter 244, relating to the
licensure and regulation of centers.
(2) Acute postpartum period--A minimum of two
hours following the delivery of the placenta and until the client is clinically
stable.
(3) Administrator--A person
who is delegated the responsibility for the implementation and proper
application of policies, programs, and services established for the
center.
(4) Admission--A client
that is accepted by the center after a risk assessment is performed.
(5) Affiliate--With respect to an applicant
or owner which is:
(A) a
corporation--includes each officer, director, stockholder with a direct
ownership of at least 5.0%, subsidiary, and parent company;
(B) a limited liability company--includes
each officer, member, and parent company;
(C) an individual--includes:
(i) the individual's spouse;
(ii) each partnership and each partner
thereof of which the individual or any affiliate of the individual is a
partner; and
(iii) each corporation
in which the individual is an officer, director, or stockholder with a direct
ownership of at least 5.0%;
(D) a partnership--includes each partner and
any parent company; and
(E) a group
of co-owners under any other business arrangement--includes each officer,
director, or the equivalent under the specific business arrangement and each
parent company.
(6)
Applicant--The owner of a center which is applying for a license under the Act.
This is the person in whose name the license will be issued.
(7) Birth attendant--A physician, certified
nurse-midwife (CNM), or a licensed midwife.
(8) Center--A facility, place, or institution
where a woman is scheduled to give birth. This term does not include a
hospital, ambulatory surgical center, a nursing home, or the residence of the
woman giving birth.
(9) Certified
nurse-midwife (CNM)--A person who is:
(A) a
registered nurse who is currently licensed under the Nursing Practice Act,
Texas Occupations Code, Chapters 301, 303 and 304;
(B) recognized as an advanced practice nurse
by The Board of Nursing for the State of Texas; and
(C) certified by the American College of
Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) or ACNM Accreditation Council.
(10) Client--A woman who is scheduled to give
birth at a center and the newborn of that birth.
(11) Clinical care--Direct provision of care
to center clients.
(12) Clinical
care provider--A registered nurse (RN), licensed vocational nurse (LVN),
physician assistant (PA), or adult unlicensed staff person who is capable of
recognizing complications and who can care for the mother and newborn by
performing the minimum duties set out in § 137.48(d) of this title
(relating to Labor and Birth Procedures).
(13) Clinical director--A person who is
responsible for advising and consulting with the staff of a center on all
matters relating to the clinical management of all clients.
(14) Critical item--All surgical instruments
and objects that are introduced directly into the bloodstream or into other
normally sterile areas of the body.
(15) Decontamination--The physical and
chemical process that renders an inanimate object safe for further
handling.
(16) Department--The
Department of State Health Services.
(17) Disinfection--The destruction or removal
of vegetative bacteria, fungi, and most viruses but not necessarily spores; the
process does not remove all organisms but reduces them to a level that is not
harmful to health. There are three levels of disinfection:
(A) high level disinfection--kills all
organisms, except high levels of bacterial spores, and is effected with a
chemical germicide cleared for marketing as a sterilant by the Food and Drug
Administration;
(B)
intermediate-level disinfection--kills mycobacteria, most viruses, and bacteria
with a chemical germicide registered as a "tuberculocide" by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA); and
(C)
low-level disinfection--kills some virus and bacteria with a chemical germicide
registered as a hospital disinfectant by the EPA.
(18) Health care facility--Any type of
facility or home and community support services agency licensed (or equivalent)
to provide health care in any state or certified for Medicare (Title XVIII) and
Medicaid (Title XIX) participation in any state.
(19) Hospital--A facility that is licensed
under the Texas Hospital Licensing Law, Health and Safety Code, Chapter 241 or,
if exempt from licensure, certified by the United States Department of Health
and Human Services as in compliance with conditions of participation for
hospitals in Title XVIII, Social Security Act (42 United States Code,
§§1395 et seq.).
(20) Initial license--The first license that
is issued to an applicant indicating that the center meets all requirements of
this chapter for a license.
(21)
Licensed health care professional--An individual licensed in the State of Texas
to provide specific health care services within a defined scope of practice by
their licensing rules or Act.
(22)
Licensed midwife--A person who practices midwifery and is licensed under the
Texas Midwifery Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 203.
(23) Licensed premises--The location stated
or described in the application that is licensed by the department.
(24) Licensed vocational nurse (LVN)--A
person who is currently licensed under the Nurse Practice Act, Texas
Occupations Code, Chapters 301, 303, and 304, as a licensed vocational
nurse.
(25) Low-risk pregnancy--A
pregnancy that is determined by history, application of a risk assessment, and
prenatal care that broadly predicts an outcome of a normal, uncomplicated
pregnancy.
(26) Manager--The
manager of the Facility Licensing Group of the Department of State Health
Services or his or her designee.
(27) Midwife--A certified nurse-midwife (CNM)
or a licensed midwife.
(28)
Noncritical items--Items that come in contact with intact skin.
(29) Notarized copy--A sworn affidavit
stating that attached copies are true and correct copies of the original
documents.
(30) Person--An
individual, firm, partnership, corporation, or association.
(31) Physician--A person who is currently
licensed under the Medical Practice Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapters 151 -
165, to practice medicine.
(32)
Physician assistant (PA)--A person who is currently licensed under the
Physician Assistant Licensing Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 204, as a
physician assistant.
(33) Physician
consultant--A physician who is currently licensed under the Medical Practice
Act, Texas Occupations Code, Chapters 151 - 165, to practice medicine and who
consults with a center.
(34) Plan
of correction--A written strategy for correcting a licensing violation. The
plan of correction shall be developed by the facility and shall address the
systems operations of the facility as the systems operations apply to the
deficiency.
(35) Policy--A written
document which describes all procedures to be followed at the facility
including medical and personnel issues which is to be maintained at the
licensed premises for a minimum of five years.
(36) Presurvey conference--A conference held
with department staff and the applicant or his or her representatives to review
licensure standards, survey documents, and provide consultation prior to the
on-site licensure survey.
(37)
Quality assurance--An ongoing, objective, and systematic process of monitoring,
evaluating, and improving the quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness of
care.
(38) Quality improvement--An
organized, structured process that selectively identifies improvement projects
to achieve improvements in products or services.
(39) Referral hospital--A hospital that a
center has identified as capable of providing care and services to mothers or
infants who require the services of a physician.
(40) Registered nurse (RN)--A person who is
currently licensed under the Nurse Practice Act, Texas Occupations Code,
Chapters 301, 303, and 304 as a registered nurse.
(41) Risk-assessment--A process by which
application of historical, physical, and laboratory data is used for the
prediction of pregnancy outcome.
(42) Semi-critical items--Items that come in
contact with nonintact skin or mucous membranes. Semi-critical items may
include respiratory therapy equipment and thermometers.
(43) Standards--Minimum requirements under
the Act and this chapter.
(44)
Sterile field--The operative area of the body and anything that directly
contacts this area.
(45)
Sterilization--The use of a physical or chemical procedure to destroy all
microbial life, including bacterial endospores.
(46) Survey--A survey or investigation
conducted by a representative of the department to determine if a licensee is
in compliance with the statute and this chapter. A survey may be conducted
onsite, by mail, by telephone, or by electronic communication
methods.
Notes
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