Pennsylvania Code › Title 28 - HEALTH AND SAFETY › Part IV - Health Facilities › Subpart E - Birth Centers › Chapter 501 - BIRTH CENTERS › GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 501.7 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this subpart,
						have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
						otherwise:
Basement
-A story or floor level below
						the main or street floor. Where due to grade differences, there are two levels
						each qualifying as a street floor, a basement is a floor level below the lower
						of the two street floors. Basements may not be counted in determining the
						height of a building in stories.
Bathing facility
-A bathtub or shower,
						or both.
Birth center
-A facility not part of a
						hospital which provides maternity care to childbearing families not requiring
						hospitalization. A birth center provides a home-like atmosphere for maternity
						care, including prenatal labor delivery and postpartum care related to
						medically uncomplicated pregnancies.
Birthing room
-A room designed,
						equipped, and arranged to provide for the care of a woman and newborn, and
						which includes accommodations for support persons during the process of vaginal
						childbirth, including the three stages of labor and recovery of a woman and
						newborn.
Department
-The Department of Health of
						the Commonwealth.
Grade
-The average elevation of the
						ground, paved or unpaved, adjoining a building or structure, at the center of
						each exterior wall.
Hazardous area
-Areas of structures,
						buildings or parts thereof, used for purposes that involve highly combustible,
						highly flammable, or explosive products or materials which are likely to burn
						with extreme rapidity, or which may produce poisonous fumes or gases, including
						highly toxic, or noxious alkalies, acids, or other liquids or chemicals, which
						involve flame, fume, explosive, poisonous, or irritant hazards; also uses that
						cause division of material into fine particles or dust subject to explosion or
						spontaneous combustion, and uses that constitute a high hazard because of the
						form, character, or volume of the material used.
Licensed practical nurse
-A practical
						nurse who holds a current and valid license to practice in this Commonwealth,
						under the Practical Nurse Law (63 P. S. §§
												651-667).
Low risk individual
-A woman
						experiencing normal, uncomplicated prenatal course as determined by adequate
						prenatal care and prospects for a normal, uncomplicated, birth as defined by
						reasonably and currently accepted criteria of maternal and fetal health.
Midwife
-A certified midwife holding a
						valid and current license to practice midwifery in this Commonwealth, under the
						act of April 4, 1929 (P. L. 160, No. 155) (63 P. S. §§
												171-176).
Minor alterations
-Structural or
						functional changes which do not affect the use of a room or an area.
New construction
-Construction started
						after June 26, 1985, for use as a birth center, including:
(i) New buildings.
(ii) Additions to existing
					 buildings.
(iii) Alterations, other
					 than minor alterations.
Owner
-The individual, partnership,
						association, or corporation which is authorized to operate a facility for
						licensure by the Department.
Physician
-A Doctor of Medicine or a
						Doctor of Osteopathy, who holds a current and valid license to practice in this
						Commonwealth.
Registered nurse
-A nurse licensed to
						practice in this Commonwealth under The Professional Nursing Law (63 P. S.
						§§
												211-225).
Support person
-The individual selected
						or chosen by a patient to provide emotional support and to assist her during
						the process of labor and childbirth.