South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-16 - Minimum Standards for Licensing Hospitals and Institutional General Infirmaries
Sec2 61-16.100 - DEFINITIONS
Section 61-16.101 - Definitions
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
For the purpose of these Standards, the following definitions shall apply:
A. Administrator: The individual designated by the governing body or owner who is in charge of and responsible for the administration of the facility.
B. Annual (Annually): A time period that requires an activity to be performed at least every twelve to thirteen (12 to 13) months.
C. Contact Investigation: Procedures that occur when a case of infectious TB is identified, including finding persons (contacts) exposed to the case, testing and evaluation of contacts to identify Latent TB Infection (LTBI) or TB disease, and treatment of these persons, as indicated.
D. Department: The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.
E. Facility: Hospitals and institutional general infirmaries licensed by the Department, shall be defined and classified as follows:
F. Designee: A physician, dentist, osteopath, podiatrist, physician's assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse who has staff privileges, selected by a prescriber to sign verbal orders for medication or treatment in the prescriber's absence.
G. Dietitian: An individual who is registered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration and currently licensed as a dietitian by the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
H. Existing Facility: A facility which was in operation and/or one which began the construction or renovation of a building, for the purpose of operating the facility, prior to the adoption of these standards. The licensing standards governing new facilities apply if and when an existing facility is not continuously operated and licensed under these Standards.
I. Health Assessment: An evaluation of the health status of a staff member or volunteer by a physician, other legally authorized healthcare provider, or registered nurse, pursuant to written standing orders and/or protocol approved by a physician's signature.
J. Licensee: The individual, corporation, organization, or public entity that has been issued a license to provide care, treatment, and services at a facility and with whom rests the ultimate responsibility for compliance with this regulation.
K. Live Birth: The complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of human conception, irrespective of the duration of pregnancy, which after such expulsion or extraction, breathes or shows any other evidence of life such as beating of the heart, pulsation of the umbilical cord, or definite movement of the voluntary muscles, whether or not the umbilical cord has been cut or the placenta is attached. Heartbeats are to be distinguished from transient cardiac contractions and respirations are to be distinguished from fleeting respiratory efforts or gasps.
L. License: A certificate issued by the Department to the licensee that authorizes the operation of a hospital or institutional general infirmary.
M. Legally Authorized Healthcare Provider: An individual authorized by law and currently licensed in South Carolina to provide specific medical treatments, care, or services to staff members and/or patients, e.g., advanced practice registered nurses, physician assistants.
N. New Facility: A facility which began operation and/or one which began construction or renovation of a building for the purpose of operating the facility after the adoption of these standards.
O. Nurse: A registered nurse, licensed practical nurse, or vocational nurse as those terms are defined by each party state's practice laws.
P. Patient: Any individual who is receiving treatment or services at the facility.
Q. Quarterly: A time period that requires an activity to be performed at least four (4) times a year within intervals ranging from eighty-one to ninety-nine (81 to 99) days.
R. External Medical Surge: Providing medical care services in an area outside of the licensed inpatient hospital building(s). For purposes of External Medical Surge, these locations are called Alternate Care Sites.
S. Internal Medical Surge: An emergency situation when a facility needs to set up and utilize beds beyond its licensed bed capacity in an area within the licensed inpatient facility building(s).
T. Inpatient Dialysis: Dialysis which, because of medical necessity, is furnished to an End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patient on a temporary inpatient basis in a hospital.
U. Emergency Care: The treatment which is usually and customarily available at the respective hospital and that must be provided immediately to sustain a person's life, to prevent serious permanent disfigurement or loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ, or to provide for the care of a woman in active labor and the infant.
