P.R. Laws tit. 24, § 3523
The Secretary of Health shall have the following powers and responsibilities regarding the implementation of the Neonatal Universal Hearing Screening Program:
(a) Establish protocols and/or procedures to implement the Neonatal Universal Hearing Screening Program in hospitals with maternity wards in Puerto Rico.
(b) Evaluate and supervise all Neonatal Universal Hearing Screening Programs in the hospitals of the Island.
(c) Provide training and shall certify the personnel that participates in the program.
(d) Be responsible for creating an efficient and reliable system for the compilation of data on the Neonatal Hearing Screening Programs.
(e) Supervise that hospitals with maternity wards in Puerto Rico carry out hearing screening tests to at least eighty percent (80%) of the infants born therein, following the procedures recommended by the Committee or its equivalent. When an infant is born in a place other than a hospital, the parents shall be advised on the benefits of hearing screening and shall be provided with the information needed to enable the administration of the hearing screening test to their child within its first (1) month of age.
(f) Provide hospitals with the necessary information to prepare educational material for families. The information shall be written in a simple language and shall include:
(1) A description of the hearing screening process.
(2) The probability of the child of suffering from hearing loss.
(3) The follow-up and community resources.
(g) The information shall also cover the educational aspect, including a description of normal hearing indicators and the normal speech and language development of a child. The educational aspects shall not substitute [for] hearing screening. The Committee shall establish the most adequate procedure for hearing screening of children born outside hospitals.
(h) Each hospital shall render a monthly report with required information to the Department of Health of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(i) The Neonatal Universal Hearing Screening Program shall render an annual report to the Advisory Committee.
(j) The audiologist coordinator of the Neonatal Universal Hearing Screening Program of the Department of Health shall ensure that the hospitals send the reports with the required information every month.
History —Dec. 19, 2003, No. 311, § 4, eff. 30 days after Dec. 19, 2003.