W. Va. Code R. § 64-29-13

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 44, November 1, 2024

Section 64-29-13 - Conduct and Membership of Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel

13.1. The Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel shall meet two to four times per year, based upon the number of deaths. Members of the IMMRP shall serve for terms of five years and may be reappointed.

13.2. The IMMRP shall be comprised of the following members:

13.2.a. The Director of the office of Maternal, Child and Family Health, who shall serve as the chairperson of the IMMRP and is responsible for calling and coordinating the meetings;

13.2.b. The Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health or his or her designee;

13.2.c. The Chief Medical Examiner in the Bureau for Public Health or his or her designee;

13.2.d. The Director of the Office of Vital Statistics in the Bureau for public Health or his or her designee;

13.2.e. Representation from each of the three medical schools in the state;

13.2.f. The Director of Obstetrics, the Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Director of Pediatrics at each of the tertiary care hospitals in the state;

13.2.g. On representative from the West Virginia State Medical Association;

13.2.h. One representative from the West Virginia Nurses Association;

13.2.i. One representative from the West Virginia Society of Osteopathic Medicine;

13.2.j. One representative from the West Virginia Academy of Family Physicians;

13.2.k. One representative from the West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Nurse Midwives;

13.2.l. One representative from the West Virginia Chapter of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology;

13.2.m. One representative from the West Virginia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics;

13.2.n. The Chairperson of the Child Fatality Review Panel; and

13.2.o. Any additional person that the chairperson of the IMMRP, or the Chairperson of the FMRT, determines is needed on a particular case under consideration by the panel.

13.3. The current membership of the EMMRP shall remain effective and authorized to carry out the duties described in this rule and the authorizing statute. In the future the FMRT shall appoint members to serve on the IMMRP and shall also appoint persons to fill vacancies on the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel.

13.4. Each member shall serve for a term of five years.

13.5. Members of the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel shall, unless sooner removed, continue to serve until their respective terms expire and until their successors have been appointed and have qualified.

13.6. An appointment of a physician, whether for a frill term or to fill a vacancy, is to be made by the FMRT from among three nominees selected by the West Virginia State Medical Association or the organization to be represented on the panel. When an appointment is for a full term, the nomination is to be submitted to the FMRT not later than eight months prior to the date on which the appointment is to become effective. In the case of an appointment to fill a vacancy, the nominations are to be submitted to the FMRT within thirty days after the request for the nomination has been made by the FMRT to the chairperson or president of the organization. When an association fails to submit to the FMRT nominations for the appointment in accordance with the requirements of this section, the FMRT may make the appointment without nominations.

13.7. Each member of the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel shall serve without additional compensation and may not be reimbursed for any expenses incurred in the discharge of his or her duties under the provisions of this article.

13.8. The Office Director of the Office of Maternal Child and Family Health in the Bureau shall serve as the chairperson of the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel, or his or her designee. The MMRP shall review death certificates of infants and women sent monthly by the office of vital statistics.

13.9. Each member of the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel shall examine the records of his or her agency to determine if the infant or woman received services at his or her agency, and if necessary, may contact other agencies to complete the review.

13.10. Panel members shall present to the rest of the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel the information obtained from the record reviews, but shall retain the documents in each agency's files.

13.11. All documents regarding a particular case that are reviewed by the Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel shall be destroyed by the Panel after the publication of the FMRT annual report in which that case data is included.

13.12. The Infant and Maternal Mortality Review Panel members, in the exercise of their duties as defined in this subsection, may not:

13.12.a. Call witnesses or take testimony from individuals involved in the investigation of an infant or maternal fatality;

13.12.b. Contact a family member of the deceased infant or mother, except if a member of the panel is involved in the investigation of the death and must contact a family member in the course of performing his or her duties outside of the panel; or

13.12.c. Enforce any public health standard or criminal law or otherwise participate in any legal proceeding, except if a member of the panel is involved in the investigation of the death or resulting prosecution and must participate in a legal proceeding in the course of performing in his or her duties outside of his or her affiliation with the panel.

W. Va. Code R. § 64-29-13