Title XXIX, Public Health

(1) If a newborn as defined in s. 383.145(2) is identified as having sickle cell disease or sickle cell trait through the newborn screening program as described in s. 383.14, the department must:(a) Notify the parent or guardian of the newborn and provide information regarding th…

(1) RISK SCREENING.—To help ensure access to the maternal and child health care system, the Department of Health shall promote the screening of all pregnant women and infants in this state for environmental risk factors, such as low income, poor education, maternal and family str…

The Legislature finds that many perinatal diseases and disabilities have debilitating, costly, and often fatal consequences if left untreated. Many of these debilitating conditions could be prevented or ameliorated if services were available to the public through a regional perin…

As used in ss. 383.15-383.19, the term:(1) “Department” means the Department of Health.(2) “Regional perinatal intensive care center” or “center” means a unit designated by the department, located within a hospital, and specifically designed to provide a full range of health serv…

The department may contract with health care providers in establishing and maintaining centers in accordance with ss. 383.15-383.19. The cost of administering the regional perinatal intensive care centers program shall be paid by the department from funds appropriated for this pu…

Participation in the regional perinatal intensive care centers program under ss. 383.15-383.19 is contingent upon the department entering into a contract with a provider. The contract shall provide that patients will receive services from the center and that parents or guardians …

(1) The department shall adopt rules that specify standards for development and operation of a center which include, but are not limited to:(a) The need to provide services through a regional perinatal intensive care center and the requirements of the population to be served.(b) …

(1) The Department of Health shall cooperate with localities which wish to establish prenatal and infant health care coalitions, and shall acknowledge and incorporate, if appropriate, existing community children’s services organizations, pursuant to this section within the resour…

The Department of Health shall annually compile and analyze the risk information collected by the Office of Vital Statistics and the district prenatal and infant care coalitions and shall maintain county and statewide data on:(1) The number of families identified as families at p…

(1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature to create a black infant health practice initiative. The initiative shall include reviews of infant mortality in select counties in this state in order to identify factors in the health and social services systems contri…

(1) As used in this section, the term “department” means the Department of Health.(2) The department shall contract with local healthy start coalitions for the creation of fetal and infant mortality review committees in all regions of the state to improve fetal and infant mortali…

The department shall establish a statewide Telehealth Minority Maternity Care Program that uses telehealth to expand the capacity for positive maternal health outcomes in racial and ethnic minority populations. The department may enlist county health departments to assist with pr…

Sections 383.30-383.332 shall be known and may be cited as the “Birth Center Licensure Act.”History.—ss. 1, 27, ch. 84-283; s. 4, ch. 91-429; s. 12, ch. 2018-24.

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the protection of public health and safety in the establishment, maintenance, and operation of birth centers by providing for licensure of birth centers and for the development, establishment, and enforcement of minimum standards…

As used in ss. 383.30-383.332, the term:(1) “Advanced birth center” means a licensed birth center designated as an advanced birth center which may perform trial of labor after cesarean deliveries for screened patients who qualify; planned low-risk cesarean deliveries; and anticip…

(1) In accordance with s. 408.805, an applicant or a licensee shall pay a fee for each license application submitted under ss. 383.30-383.332 and part II of chapter 408. The amount of the fee shall be established by rule.(2) Each applicant for licensure and each licensee must com…

(1) Each birth center shall have a governing body which is responsible for the overall operation and maintenance of the birth center.(a) The governing body shall develop and display a table of organization which shows the structure of the birth center and identifies the governing…

(1) A birth center shall be so designed to assure adequate provision for birthing rooms, bath and toilet facilities, storage areas for supplies and equipment, examination areas, and reception or family areas. Handwashing facilities shall be in, or immediately adjacent to, all exa…

(1) To be designated as an advanced birth center, a birth center must, in addition to maintaining compliance with all of the requirements under ss. 383.30-383.332 applicable to birth centers and advanced birth centers, meet all of the following criteria:(a) Be operated and staffe…

(1) The agency shall adopt and enforce rules to administer ss. 383.30-383.332 and part II of chapter 408, which rules shall include, but are not limited to, reasonable and fair minimum standards for ensuring that:(a) Sufficient numbers and qualified types of personnel and occupat…

(1)(a) A birth center may accept only those patients who are expected to have normal pregnancies, labors, and deliveries.(b) The criteria for the selection of clients and the establishment of risk status shall be defined by rule of the agency.(2)(a) A patient may not be accepted …

(1) Each licensed facility shall adopt a protocol that at a minimum provides for facility staff to be knowledgeable of the waiting periods, revocation and the contents of the consent to adoption as contained in s. 63.082(4), and describes the supportive and unbiased manner in whi…

(1) The clients and their families shall be fully informed of the policies and procedures of the birth center, including, but not limited to, policies and procedures on:(a) The selection of clients.(b) The expectation of self-help and family/client relationships.(c) The qualifica…

(1) A birth center shall ensure that its clients have adequate prenatal care, as defined by the agency, and shall ensure that serological tests are administered as required by this chapter.(2) Records of prenatal care shall be maintained for each client and shall be available dur…

(1) LABORATORY SERVICES.—A birth center may collect specimens for those tests that are requested under protocol. A birth center must obtain and continuously maintain certification by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the federal Clinical Laboratory Improvement …

(1) LABORATORY SERVICES.—An advanced birth center shall have a clinical laboratory on site. The clinical laboratory must, at a minimum, be capable of providing laboratory testing for hematology, metabolic screening, liver function, and coagulation studies. An advanced birth cente…

(1) A birth center shall maintain in writing a consultation agreement, signed within the current license period, with each consultant who has agreed to provide advice and services to the birth center as requested.(2) Consultation may be provided onsite or by telephone, as require…

(1) If unforeseen complications arise during labor, delivery, or postpartum recovery, the client must be transferred to a hospital.(2) Each birth center shall make arrangements with a local ambulance service licensed under chapter 401 for the transport of emergency patients to a …

(1) Except at advanced birth centers that must adhere to the requirements of subsection (2), a mother and her infant must be dismissed from a birth center within 24 hours after the birth of the infant, except in unusual circumstances as defined by rule of the agency. If a mother …

(1) Clinical records shall contain information prescribed by rule, including, but not limited to:(a) Identifying information.(b) Risk assessments.(c) Information relating to prenatal visits.(d) Information relating to the course of labor and intrapartum care.(e) Information relat…

Each facility licensed under s. 383.305 shall pay to the agency an inspection fee established by rule of the agency. In addition to the requirements of part II of chapter 408, the agency shall coordinate all periodic inspections for licensure made by the agency to ensure that the…

(1) Each licensed facility shall maintain as public information, available upon request, records of all inspection reports pertaining to that facility which have been filed with, or issued by, any governmental agency. Copies of such reports shall be retained in the records of the…

(1) A completed certificate of birth shall be filed with the local registrar within 5 days of each birth in accordance with chapter 382.(2) Each maternal death, newborn death, and stillbirth shall be reported immediately to the medical examiner and the agency.(3) The licensee sha…

(1) In addition to the requirements of part II of chapter 408, the agency may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $500 per violation per day for the violation of any provision of ss. 383.30-383.332, part II of chapter 408, or applicable rules.(2) In determining the amount…

Any person who establishes, conducts, manages, or operates any birth center facility without a license issued under s. 383.305 and part II of chapter 408 commits a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined not more than $100 for the first offense and not more than $500 for…

Nothing in this act shall serve as the basis for any civil or administrative action, nor as evidence of a standard of care or compliance with a standard of care in any civil or administrative action.History.—s. 2, ch. 91-126.

(1) FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature recognizes that more than 4,500 infants in the United States die suddenly and unexpectedly of no immediate or obvious cause. According to statistics from the Department of Health, more than 200 infants in this state experienced Sudden Unex…

(1) This section shall be known by the popular name the “Stephanie Saboor Grieving Parents Act.”(2) A health care practitioner licensed pursuant to chapter 458, chapter 459, chapter 464, or chapter 467 having custody of fetal remains following a spontaneous fetal demise occurring…

(1) The Department of Health shall develop educational materials on drowning prevention safety measures and safe bathing practices to be distributed to parents or caregivers as part of postpartum or childbirth education provided by hospitals, birth centers, home birth providers, …

(1) INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature to establish a statewide multidisciplinary, multiagency, epidemiological child abuse death assessment and prevention system that consists of state and local review committees. The committees shall review the facts and circumstances …

(1) For purposes of this section, the term “local committee” means a local child abuse death review committee or a panel or committee assembled by the State Child Abuse Death Review Committee or a local child abuse death review committee pursuant to s. 383.402.(2)(a) Any informat…

(1) As used in this section, the term:(a) “Infant” means a child who a licensed physician reasonably believes is approximately 30 days old or younger at the time the child is surrendered under this section.(b) “Infant safety device” means a device that is installed in a supportin…

The identity of a parent who surrenders an infant at a hospital, an emergency medical services station, or a fire station in accordance with s. 383.50 is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution. The identity of a parent leaving a c…

This chapter may be cited as the “Control of Sexually Transmissible Disease Act.”History.—s. 90, ch. 86-220.

The Legislature finds and declares that sexually transmissible diseases constitute a serious and sometimes fatal threat to the public and individual health and welfare of the people of the state and to visitors to the state. The Legislature finds that the incidence of sexually tr…

(1) “Department” means the Department of Health.(2) “County health department” means agencies and entities as designated in chapter 154.(3) “Sexually transmissible disease” means a bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic disease determined by rule of the department to be sexually …