| E.__"Panel coordinator" means an employee of the center who | is appointed by the director or a person designated by the | panel coordinator.__The panel coordinator must be a licensed | physician or registered nurse or other health care | professional licensed or registered in this State. |
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| | 2.__Membership.__The panel consists of health care and social | service providers, public health officials, law enforcement | officers and other persons with professional expertise on | maternal and infant health and mortality.__The director shall | appoint the members of the panel, who serve at the pleasure of | the director.__The director shall appoint an employee of the | center to serve as panel coordinator. |
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| | 3.__Contact with authorized representatives.__The first | contact pursuant to this section with a parent or parents or | other authorized representative of a deceased person may not | occur prior to 4 months after the death and must: |
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| A.__Be by letter from the State Health Officer on letterhead | of the center; and |
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| B.__Include a separate invitation to participate in a review | of the death of the deceased person from a statewide | organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by | preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant | mortality. |
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| | 4.__Duties and powers of panel coordinator.__The panel | coordinator has the following duties and powers. |
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| A.__The panel coordinator shall review the deaths of all | women during pregnancy or within 42 days of giving birth and | the majority of deaths of infants under 1 year of age, with | selection of cases of infant death based on the need to | review particular causes of death or obtaining a | representative sample of all deaths. |
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| B.__Prior to accessing medical records, the panel | coordinator shall obtain permission in all cases for access | to those records from the parent or parents or other | authorized representative of the deceased person. |
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| C.__Prior to conducting a voluntary interview, the panel | coordinator shall obtain permission in all cases for the | interview from the parent or parents or other authorized | representative of the deceased person. |
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| D. The panel coordinator may conduct voluntary interviews with | the parent or parents of a deceased child or other |
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