Iowa Admin. Code r. 641-150.2 - [Effective 7/1/2025] Definitions
"Categorization" means a preliminary determination by the department that a hospital is capable of providing maternal care and neonatal care at Level I, Level II, Level III, or Level IV.
"Certificate of verification" means a document awarded by the department that identifies a hospital's level of maternal care and neonatal care at Level I, Level II, Level III, or Level IV and the term of verification at that level.
"Hospital" means a facility licensed under Iowa Code chapter 135B.
"Late preterm" means that a newborn infant is born between 34 0/7 and 36 6/7 weeks' gestation.
"Levels-of-care assessment tool" or "tool" means a tool to assess the maternal and neonatal risk-appropriate care, using the minimum information necessary to identify a hospital's maternal level of care based on criteria by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists/Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and a hospital's neonatal level of care based on criteria by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The tool will be chosen by the department in consultation with the perinatal guidelines advisory committee.
"Neonate" means a newborn infant, up to 28 days of life.
"On-site verification survey" means an on-site survey conducted by the department's statewide perinatal care team based at the University of Iowa health care medical center or by a survey team of members (medical experts) contracted to assess a hospital's ability to meet the level of designation selected by the hospital.
"Perinatal" means the five months before and one month after birth.
"Perinatal center" means a medical facility capable of providing complex obstetric, fetal and neonatal care.
"Prenatal" means during pregnancy.
"Readily available" means on site or at a closely related institution by prearranged consultative agreement.
"Regionalized system of perinatal health care" means the department's program for designating regional perinatal health care services at a verified level of care, based on a hospital's functional capabilities. Levels of care designations are stratified in an increasing order of intensity and complexity for both maternal health care and neonatal health care.
"Regionalized system of perinatal health care coordinator" means the department's program manager for the regionalized system of perinatal health care.
"Respiratory distress" means tachypnea (respiratory rate of 60 or more per minute), grunting, tugging, retracting, nasal flaring, or cyanosis. Any or all of these may constitute respiratory distress in a neonate.
"Reverification" means the process of periodic review, conducted at least every three years, to certify that a hospital has maintained its designated level of care in accordance with criteria established under these rules for hospitals that are participating in the regionalized system of perinatal health care.
"Statewide perinatal care program" means a program consisting of the regionalized system of perinatal health care coordinator, the statewide perinatal care team contracted by the department, and the regionalized system of perinatal health care as defined in these rules.
"Statewide perinatal care team" means the educational team based at the University of Iowa health care medical center and contracted by the department to support the regionalized system of perinatal health care and to provide services to decrease perinatal morbidity and mortality.
"Verification" means a process by which the department certifies a hospital's capacity to provide perinatal care in accordance with criteria established under these rules for hospitals that are participating in the regionalized system of perinatal health care.
Notes
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For the purpose of these rules, the following definitions shall apply:
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"Prenatal" means during pregnancy.
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