1. (a) admission screenings to assure that only low risk women are admitted to the birth center;

2. (b) active participation by women and families in their own health care plan to include but not be limited to:

   1. (1) orientation to the birth center services and its philosophy and goals preceding registration; and
   2. (2) attendance at prenatal education classes approved by the clinical staff which address, as a minimum, labor and delivery, infant care and feeding, parenting, nutrition, the effects of smoking, alcohol and other drugs on the fetus, what to expect if transferred, and the newborn screening program with the distribution of newborn screening educational literature;

3. (c) prenatal and intrapartum care including:

   1. (1) a plan of care developed according to accepted professional standards;
   2. (2) selection of pediatric services by the woman for follow-up care of the infant;
   3. (3) providing HIV counseling and recommending voluntary testing to pregnant women during a prenatal visit. Counseling and/or testing, if accepted, shall be provided pursuant to Public Health Law, article 27-F. Information regarding the woman's HIV counseling and HIV status must be transferred as part of her medical history to the labor and delivery site. Women with positive test results shall be referred to the necessary health and social services within a clinically appropriate time;
   4. (4) continuous risk assessment of the woman and fetus; and
   5. (5) labor support and professional attendance at birth for the mother and her family;

4. (d) postpartum care including:

   1. (1) care in the birth center to be provided for a minimum of four hours and a maximum of 24 hours after the third stage of labor is complete;
   2. (2) a physical assessment of the newborn with the required eye prophylaxis in accordance with section 12.2 of this Title and newborn screening tests in accordance with Part 69 of this Title;
   3. (3) birth registration in accordance with section 4130 of the Public Health Law;
   4. (4) a physical assessment of the mother in accordance with established protocols including the evaluation of Rh status, need for Rh prophylaxis and the mother's ability to feed the infant prior to discharge from the center; and
   5. (5) the transfer to the newborn's medical record of a mother's HIV test result, if one exists;

5. (e) discharge and follow-up including:

   1. (1) maternal and newborn home visits the following day after discharge and upon the third day after discharge unless arrangements have been made for the infant to be seen by his/her physician. The home visits may be performed by professional nursing staff from the birth center, if the facility is approved under article 36 of the Public Health Law, or through an arrangement with a certified or licensed home health agency, to include an assessment of the mother-child relationship, an evaluation of the nutritional status of the infant and the physical and psychological status of the mother, performance of a hematocrit, rubella vaccination and Rh prophylaxis, if indicated, and newborn screening blood collection in accordance with Part 69 of this Title;
   2. (2) assurance of immediate and ongoing pediatric care;
   3. (3) provision of family planning counseling or arrangements for family planning services, if desired by the patient; and
   4. (4) arrangements for follow-up visits at the birth center within a six-week period following the birth.

The operator shall ensure that the birth center provides at least the following: