Maternal Designation

In 2013, House Bill 15 was passed during the 83rd Legislature, Regular Session. The purpose of the bill was to develop initial rules for level of care designations for hospitals that provide maternal services. The hospital level of care designations for maternal care rules went into effect on March 1, 2018.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has the authority to designate facilities. The EMS/Trauma Systems Section of DSHS works with hospitals, Perinatal Care Regions (PCRs) and the Perinatal Advisory Council (PAC) to:

• Improve maternal patient care and outcomes, 
• Develop hospital requirements for facility designation, and
• Establish regional coordination of maternal care.

Overview

• Rule: Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, Chapter 133, Subchapter K 

Survey Organizations 

• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
• Texas Perinatal Services 

Advisory Council

• Perinatal Advisory Council (PAC)
  Created by House Bill 15 of the 83rd Texas Legislature (Regular Session), the PAC examines utilization trends in neonatal and maternal care and recommends ways to improve neonatal and maternal outcomes.

Documents

• Applications and Forms

• DSHS Designation Program: Facility Update Form

  Use our online verification system to verify your current contact information (instructions).

Fees

The non-refundable maternal application fees for a three-year designation period are as follows:

• Level I maternal facility application fees are as follows:
  • <=100 licensed beds fee is $250.00; or
  • >100 licensed beds fee is $750.00.
• Level II maternal facility application fee is $1,500.00.
• Level III maternal facility application fee is $2,000.00.
• Level IV maternal facility application fee is $2,500.00.

Map

• EMS/Trauma Systems Interactive Map

Facilities

• List of facilities by Designation Level

Resource Documents

• Maternal Designation Application Submission Dates
• DSHS Virtual Survey Guidelines

The following tools may be used to evaluate your facility's compliance according to the Maternal Level of Care you are seeking.

• Level I Maternal – Self-Assessment
• Level II Maternal – Self-Assessment
• Level III Maternal – Self-Assessment
• Level IV Maternal – Self-Assessment
• Obstetric Care Consensus

Provider training webinars: Recordings of the training are listed below. Each link will take you to a page where you must enter your name and email address to access the video.  

Webinar recordings:

• Level I Designation – March 22, 2018
• Level II Designation – March 27, 2018
• Level III Designation – March 28, 2018
• Level IV Designation – March 29, 2018
   

PowerPoint presentations from webinars:

• Level I PowerPoint presentation
• Level II PowerPoint presentation
• Level III PowerPoint presentation
• Level IV PowerPoint presentation