AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO STANDARDS FOR LEVELS OF NEONATAL CARE.

New care standards for Delaware newborns

Delaware-licensed newborn nurseries and neonatal intensive care units must meet American Academy of Pediatrics standards, including updates. These standards cover staffing, equipment, facility capabilities, and patient care. The state health secretary or designee assigns each unit a care level. Level IV units must hold Children’s Surgical Verification from the American College of Surgeons. A full-time newborn specialist must direct each Level IV unit. A newborn specialist and a pediatric anesthesiologist must be on-site at all times. These doctors must be Delaware-licensed and board-certified or board-eligible. Level IV units must also have on-site pediatric specialists in anesthesiology, orthopedics, ear-nose-throat care, palliative care, and urology. Required on-site surgical specialties include heart and chest surgery, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, and neurosurgery. Required services include heart ultrasound, brain-wave testing, heart-lung support called ECMO, and radiology. Designated facilities must confirm compliance each year, including Department updates. After determining they cannot meet specified requirements, facilities must notify the secretary in writing within 30 days. They must get a chance to show just cause or an active correction plan. Facilities may request a lower care level or appeal designation decisions through the state administrative appeals process. The Department must adopt rules, including compliance checks, by January 30, 2027. It must seek input and review from the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative and existing neonatal intensive care facilities.