New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 7 - HEALTH
Chapter 10 - FREESTANDING BIRTH CENTERS
Part 2 - REQUIREMENTS FOR FREESTANDING BIRTH CENTERS
Section 7.10.2.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "AABC" means American association of birth centers.

B. "Administrator" means the person who is delegated the administrative responsibility for interpreting, implementing, and applying policies and procedures at the birth center. The administrator is responsible for establishing and maintaining safe and effective management, control and operation of the facility and all of the services provided at the facility, including fiscal management. The administrator must meet the minimum administrator qualifications in these regulations.

C. "Applicant" means the individual or legal entity that applies for a license. If the applicant is a legal entity, then the individual signing the license application on behalf of the legal entity must have written legal authority from the legal entity to act on its behalf and execute the application. The license applicant must be the legal owner of the facility.

D. "Apprentice midwife" means an individual as defined in and licensed under 16.11.3 NMAC, as amended, and currently in good standing.

E. "ACNM" means the American college of nurse midwives.

F. "Basic life support" (BLS) means training and current certification in adult cardiopulmonary resuscitation equivalent to American heart association class C basic life support and in emergency treatment of a victim of cardiac or respiratory arrest through cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiac care.

G. "Birth assistant" means a staff person over the age of 18 who is capable of recognizing complications and who can care for the mother and infant by performing normal postpartum and newborn care. At a minimum, a birth assistant must be trained and have current certifications in BLS and neonatal resuscitation program (NRP) and can only function under the direct supervision of a licensed provider immediately available on site.

H. "Birth center" (BC) means a freestanding birth center licensed by the state for the primary purpose of performing low-risk deliveries that is not a hospital, attached to a hospital or in a hospital, and where births are planned to occur away from the mother's residence following a low-risk pregnancy.

I. "Birth room" or "birthing room" means a private room of sufficient size to accommodate a client in active labor with the equipment and personnel necessary to assist the mother in a safe birth and in full compliance with the minimum standards in these regulations. Any facility with four or more birthing rooms must also comply with the birthing room and center requirements in the current edition of the facility guidelines institute, guidelines for design and construction, specific requirements for freestanding birth centers.

J. "CABC" means the commission for the accreditation of birth centers.

K. "Certified nurse midwife" means a licensed individual educated in the two disciplines of nursing and midwifery as defined and licensed under 16.11.2 NMAC, as amended, and currently in good standing.

L. "Certified nurse practitioner" means a registered nurse as defined and licensed under the Nursing Practice Act, Section 61-3-23.2 NMSA 1978, as amended, and related regulations and is currently in good standing.

M. "CLIA" means Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 as amended.

N. "Client" means any person who receives care, including a mother, infant or newborn, at a freestanding birth center.

O. "Compliance" means the facility's adherence to these regulations, as well as any and all other applicable state and federal statutes and regulations. Compliance violations may result in sanctions, civil monetary penalties and revocation or suspension of the facility license.

P. "Deficiency" means a violation of or failure to comply with any provision(s) of these regulations.

Q. "Department" means the New Mexico department of health.

R. "Employee" means any person who works at the facility and is a direct hire of the owner or management company, if applicable.

S. "External quality committee" means the members of the internal quality committee and an external peer reviewer or a clinical consultant and any other facility healthcare partners, as available.

T. "Facility" means the physical premises, building(s) and equipment where the freestanding birth center services are provided, whether owned or leased and which is licensed pursuant to these regulations.

U. "Incident" means any known, alleged or suspected event of abuse, neglect, exploitation, injuries of unknown origin or other reportable incidents.

V. "Incident management system" means the written policies and procedures adopted or developed by the licensed health facility for reporting abuse, neglect, exploitation, injuries of unknown origin or other reportable incidents.

W. "Incident report form" means the reporting format issued by the department for the reporting of incidents or complaints.

X. "Internal quality committee" means and includes the administrator and clinical director at a minimum. If the administrator and clinical director are the same person, another staff person with clinical experience must serve on the internal quality committee. Other staff at the facility may also serve on this committee as deemed appropriate.

Y. "License" means the document issued by the licensing authority pursuant to these regulations granting the legal right to operate a birth center for a specified period of time, at the physical premises, not to exceed one year.

Z. "Licensee" means the person(s) or legal entity that operates the physical premises and facility and in whose name the facility license has been issued and who is legally responsible for compliance with these regulations.

AA. "Licensed midwife" means a licensed individual as defined and licensed under 16.11.3 NMAC, as amended, currently in good standing.

BB. "Licensed practical nurse" means a licensed individual as defined and licensed under the Nursing Practice Act, Section 61-3-19 NMSA 1978, as amended, currently in good standing.

CC. "Licensing authority" means the New Mexico department of health.

DD. "Low risk pregnancy" means a pregnancy that is determined by documented medical history, risk assessment, and prenatal care that reasonably predicts an outcome of a normal and uncomplicated labor and birth.

EE. "Management company" means the legal entity that manages the facility, if different from the legal owner of the facility.

FF. "Midwife" means a licensed individual authorized to practice midwifery in New Mexico as defined and licensed under 16.11.2 NMAC, as amended, or 16.11.3 NMAC, as amended, currently in good standing.

GG. "NFPA" means the national fire protection association which sets codes and standards for building fire safety.

HH. "NMSA" means the New Mexico Statutes Annotated 1978 compilation and all subsequent amendments, revisions and compilations.

II. "Neonatal resuscitation program" (NRP) means training and current certification in both the NRP module on medications and the module on intubation using an endotracheal tube (ET) or laryngeal mask airway (LMA) or both, endorsed by American academy of pediatrics or the American heart association.

JJ. "Quality assurance" means the licensed health care facility's on-going comprehensive self-assessment of compliance with these regulations and any and all other applicable statutes and regulations including, but not limited to,, the facility's own policies and procedures and incident investigations, documentation, reporting and reviewing of all alleged incidents of abuse, neglect, exploitation, injuries of unknown origin or other reportable incidents for study and improvement of the facility's organizational, administrative and preventative practices in employee training and reporting.

KK. "Quality improvement system" means a systematic approach to the continuous study and improvement of the efficacy of organizational, administrative and clinical practices to meet the needs of persons served, address any changing regulatory requirements and achieve the facility's mission, values and goals.

LL. "Physician" means a licensed individual, currently in good standing, authorized to practice medicine as defined and licensed under the New Mexico Medical Practice Act, Sections 61-6-1 to 61-6-34 NMSA 1978, as amended, and related regulations or osteopathic medicine as defined and licensed under Sections 61-10-1 to 61-10-22 NMSA 1978, as amended, and related regulations.

MM. "Physician's assistant" means an individual, currently in good standing, who is licensed and authorized to provide services to patients under the supervision and direction of a licensed physician under the Physician Assistant Act, Sections 61-6-7 to 61-6-10 NMSA 1978, as amended and related regulations, or is authorized and licensed to provide services to patients under the supervision and direction of a licensed osteopathic physician under the Osteopathic Physicians' Assistants Act, Sections 61-10A-1 to 61-10-7 NMSA 1978 as amended, and related regulations.

NN. "Plan of correction" (POC) means the plan submitted by the licensee or its representative(s) addressing how and when deficiencies identified through a survey or investigation will be corrected. A plan of correction is a public record once it has been approved by the regulatory authority and is admissible for all purposes in any adjudicatory hearing and all subsequent appeals relating to a facility license, including to prove licensee compliance violations or failures.

OO. "Policy" means a written statement that guides and determines present and future facility decisions and actions.

PP. "Premises" means all of the facility including buildings, grounds and equipment.

QQ. "Procedure" means the action(s) that must be taken in order to implement a written policy.

RR. "Registered nurse" means an individual, currently in good standing, who is licensed and authorized to provide nursing services under the Nursing Practice Act, Sections 61-3-1 to 61-3-30 NMSA 1978, as amended, and related regulations.

SS. "Scope of practice" means the procedures, actions, and processes that a healthcare practitioner is permitted to undertake under the terms of their professional license. The scope of practice is limited to that which the applicable law allows for specific education, training, experience and demonstrated competency.

TT. "Staff' means any person who works at the facility, and includes employees, contracted persons, independent contractors and volunteers who perform work or provide goods and services at the facility.

UU. "U/L approved" means approved for safety by the national underwriters laboratory.

VV. "Variance" means a written decision, made at the licensing authority's sole discretion, allowing a licensee and facility to deviate from a portion(s) or provision of these regulations for a specified time period not exceeding a year, providing the variance does not jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of the facility's clients, patients and staff and is not in violation of other applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.

WW. "Violation" means any and all actions or procedures by the facility or licensee that are not in compliance with these regulations and any and all other applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.

XX. "Waive" or "waiver" means a written decision, made at the licensing authority's sole discretion, to allow a birth center to refrain from complying with a portion(s) or provision of these regulations for a limited and specified time period not exceeding a year, providing the waiver does not jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of the facility's clients, patients and staff and is not in violation of other applicable state and federal statutes and regulations.