1. (1) As a condition of licensure or relicensure, all health facilities offering obstetric or midwifery services shall provide an auditory screening for all infants using one (1) of the methods approved by the Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs by administrative regulation promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A.

2. (2) An auditory screening report that indicates a finding of potential hearing loss shall be forwarded by the health facility within twenty-four (24) hours of receipt to the:

   1. (a) Attending physician or health care provider;
   2. (b) Parents;
   3. (c) Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs for evaluation or referral for further evaluation in accordance with KRS 211.647; and
   4. (d) Audiological assessment and diagnostic center approved by the office if a follow-up assessment has been scheduled prior to the infant's discharge from the hospital.
3. (3) An auditory screening report that does not indicate a potential hearing loss shall be forwarded within one (1) week to the Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs with no information that personally identifies the child.

Effective: June 27, 2025

History: Amended 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 121, sec. 14, effective June 27, 2025. -- Amended 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 102, sec. 3, effective June 25, 2009. -- Created 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 308, sec. 11, effective July 14, 2000. Legislative Research Commission Note (6/27/2025). 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 121, sec. 24, provides that the Act, which amended this statute, may be cited as the Mary Carol Akers Birth Centers Act. Legislative Research Commission Note (8/23/2019). In 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 114, sec. 1, the General Assembly renamed the "Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs" as the "Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs." A reference to that "commission" was changed to "office" in subsection (2)(d) of this statute. This name correction should have been addressed when 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 114 was codified, but it wasn't. This change is being made now under the authority of KRS 7.136(2). Legislative Research Commission Note (7/14/2018). Under the authority of KRS 7.136(2), one or more references to the "Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs" in this statute have been changed in codification to the "Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs" to reflect the renaming of the commission by the General Assembly in 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 114.