La. Admin. Code tit. 48 § V-2501

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

Section V-2501 - General Administration

A. Administration

1. This program exists primarily to monitor compliance with R.S.33:1561, R.S. 33:1561.3, and R.S. 40:56 which mandate the following:

a. coroners must clearly state cause of death as "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" where the findings so warrant and within 48 hours of such findings notify the director of the local parish health unit of this provisional diagnosis;

b. the director of the parish health unit or his agent, after consultation with the infant's physician, shall, within 48 hours contact the person or persons who had custody and control of the infant and explain the nature and cause of SIDS to the extent current knowledge permits; and

c. to ensure that the provisional cause of death as SIDS is verified, autopsies shall be performed whenever the cause of death of an infant is unexpected and without explanation.

2. The coordination of the SIDS Program is under the direction of OPPHS Medical Social Services.

B. Eligibility. Parents of children who are identified as victims of SIDS deaths in Louisiana are eligible for these services.

C. Purpose. The goals of the SIDS program are:

1. to provide early clarification of the cause of death so as to alleviate parental/familial guilt and thereby diminish as much as possible the usual long term trauma resulting from SIDS;

2. to provide educational materials to parents and the community at large regarding SIDS, with special focus on training persons who are most likely to have contact with persons experiencing SIDS; e.g., emergency medical units, bereavement groups, etc;

3. to make appropriate referrals of SIDS families to prevent family breakdown and/or psychological imbalance of any severe/long term nature often associated with the experience of SIDS; and

4. to provide counseling, whenever possible, especially in those geographical areas where other resources are not available.

In addition to the above, statistics are complied in a central register to monitor the profile of SIDS families in Louisiana and to establish a base of data available for research relative to this population.

La. Admin. Code tit. 48, § V-2501

Promulgated by the Department of Health and Human Resources, Office of Preventive and Public Health Services, LR 246 (April 1987).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 33:1561, R.S. 33:1561.3 and R. S. 40:56.