Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL
Part I - General Administration
Subpart 3 - Licensing and Certification
Chapter 93 - Hospitals
Subchapter U - Alternative Birthing Units
Section I-9563 - Services
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code I-9563
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. The ABU shall have patient care services policies that delineate the organization of the unit, qualifications of the staff and requirements for staff to patient ratio.
B. Unit Organization
1. Care in an ABU shall be under the
direction of a CNM.
a. A CNM and a registered
nurse shall be available per hospital on call policy to ensure 24-hour coverage
for patient care.
b. Qualified
professional clinical staff shall monitor the patient's progress in labor with
ongoing assessments of maternal/fetal reactions to the process of labor, within
accepted professional standards.
2. Authority and responsibilities of all
patient care staff shall be clearly defined in written policies.
3. The functions of the ABU shall be under
the direction of perinatal services. These functions shall include, but are not
limited to:
a. the development,
implementation, enforcement, monitoring, and annual review of policies and
procedures related to patient care;
b. the orientation and training of qualified
staff for provision of care; and
c.
provisions for current educational and reference materials.
C. Staff Qualifications
1. The CNM shall provide documentation of
current licensure and certification, as required by the Louisiana State Board
of Nursing (LSBN). The documentation shall be maintained as part of the
credential file for each CNM.
2.
Licensed nursing personnel shall practice in accordance with the Louisiana
State Nurse Practice Act and demonstrate current licensure by LSBN.
3. All clinical staff of the ABU shall be
required to provide documentation of training and continued competence in Adult
Basic Cardiopulmonary Life Support (BCLS) and Neonatal Resuscitation Program
(NRP) or its equivalent.
4.
Documented, dated, and signed demonstration of skills competencies shall be
maintained in the personnel file for each staff member.
D. Requirements for Staff to Patient Ratio
1. A CNM must be present at all times while a
laboring patient is in the ABU.
2.
A registered nurse (RN) shall provide 1:1 maternal care during labor, delivery
and post-delivery.
3. There shall
be sufficient professional and support staff on duty and on call to meet the
following patient's needs:
a. for services
routinely provided;
b. to assure
patient safety and satisfaction; and
c. to ensure that no patient in active labor
is left unattended.
4.
During the second stage of labor, 2:1 patient care is required, with one of the
clinical staff being a CNM and one other RN.
5. Staffing per shift shall be based on
acuity and census of the ABU.
6.
Each RN shall be responsible for 1:1 labor care and/or 1:2 couplet
care.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 40:2100-2115.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
