Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) In accordance
with section 2151.3517 of the Revised Code,
newborn safety incubators can only be installed at locations of the following
entities:
(1) Law enforcement
agency;
(2) Hospital registered
pursuant to section 3701.07 of the Revised Code;
or
(3) Emergency medical service
organization.
(B) Each
location where a newborn safety incubator is installed
will
have:
(1)
At
least one individual authorized by section
2151.3517 of the Revised Code
and outlined in paragraph (F) of this rule present and on duty in the facility
at all times, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week to take possession of
a surrendered child; or
(2)
An alternate peace officer, peace officer support
employee, hospital employee, or emergency medical service worker who is
dispatched by a secondary alarm that triggers a 9-1-1 call, in accordance with
division (A)(1)(f) of section
2151.3532 of the Revised Code,
when either of the following is the case:
(a)
No individual
described in paragraph (B)(1) of this rule who is present at the facility
responds within a reasonable amount of time after a child is placed in the
incubator; or
(b)
Every individual described in section
2151.3517 of the Revised Code
who is scheduled to work at the facility when a parent places a child into the
incubator has been dispatched on an emergency call.
(C) Each location where a newborn
safety incubator is installed will post signage that clearly identifies the newborn
safety incubator access portal door and provides both written and pictorial
instruction to the surrendering parent to:
(1) Open the access portal door;
(2) Place the infant inside the medical
bassinet; and
(3) Close the access
portal door to engage the lock.
(D) The newborn safety incubator access
portal door may only be installed:
(1) On an exterior wall of an authorized
facility listed in paragraph (A) of this rule that:
(a) Ensures anonymity of the surrendering
parent;
(i)
Notwithstanding
division (A) of section
2151.3526 of the Revised Code,
and paragraph (D)(1)(a) of this rule, video surveillance is permitted at the
facility where the incubator is located. The surveillance footage may be
reviewed only when:
(a)
A child has been surrendered under the circumstances
described in division (B) of section
2151.3526 of the Revised Code;
or
(b)
There is reason to believe a crime has been committed
within view of the video surveillance system.
(b) Provides access to an area
within the interior of the building that provides:
(i) A climate controlled environment,
including temperature control within the range of seventy-one to eighty-one
degrees; and
(ii) Air circulation
that is free from pollutants, exhaust, chemical fumes, and smoke.
(2) In a manner that
provides unencumbered access from the exterior of the building through the
access portal door for the surrender of the child into the medical
bassinet.
(E) The placement of the newborn safety
incubator access portal door and medical bassinet within the interior of the
building will provide unencumbered access to the medical
bassinet for an authorized individual, as outlined in paragraph (F) of this
rule, responding to the alarm notification that a child has been surrendered
into the newborn safety incubator.
(F)
Only the following persons, while acting in an
official capacity, will take possession of a child who is thirty days old
or younger, from a newborn safety incubator:
(1) A peace officer on behalf of the law
enforcement agency that employs the officer;
(2)
A peace officer
support employee as defined in section
2151.3515 of the Revised
Code;
(3) A hospital employee
on behalf of the hospital that has granted the person privilege to practice at
the hospital or that employs the person; or
(4) An emergency
medical service worker on behalf of the emergency medical service organization
that employs the worker or for which the worker provides services.
(G) Upon taking possession of a
surrendered child from a newborn safety incubator, the law enforcement agency,
hospital, or emergency medical service organization will act in
accordance with the requirements of section
2151.3517 of the Revised
Code.
(H)
A
person authorized by section
2151.3517 or section
2151.3515 of the Revised Code to
take possession of a child is not liable for damages in a civil action for
injury, death, or loss to person or property resulting from the person's
failure to respond within a reasonable amount of time after a child is placed
in the incubator or after the person is dispatched by a secondary alarm, unless
that failure constitutes willful or wanton misconduct.
