What's happening
Writing a plain-English summary… Track this bill to get it by email.
Why it matters
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Sponsors
3 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to establishing protocols for stillbirths and establishing a stillbirth research database
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to establishing protocols for stillbirths and establishing a stillbirth research database
Purpose
The purpose for this bill is to have the commissioner, medical examiners, nurses, psychologists, and social workers develop and prescribe regulations for comprehensive policies and procedures to healthcare facilities that provide birthing and newborn care in the case of a still birth.
Summary of provisions
As a condition of licensure a health care facility providing birthing services and newborn care will adhere to the following, at minimum:
One doctor should be assigned to the family who will inform them of the state of fetus as well as inform and coordinate staff to assist with post-mortem procedures,
Guidelines will be established to assess the family's awareness re: stillbirth,
Establish a bereavement checklist and information re: funeral and cremation options,
One-on-one nursing for mother for duration of stay,
Training for care providers on sensitivity when speaking with the family and culturally appropriate responses based the family's social, cultural and religious needs,
Establish best practices to provide psychological and emotional support,
Protocols to ensure primary physician discusses autopsy; its findings; impact on future pregnancies,
Protocols re: coordination of care re: grieving; family to have access to the hospital chaplain or an individual,
Establish guidelines for educating hospital staff on caring for families in the case of a stillbirth,
Establish a fetal death evaluation protocol to collect data to include but not limited to race, age of mother, co-morbidities, prenatal care histories, antepartum findings, history of past complications, substance use, exposure to viral infections, etc.,
Document the evaluation of the stillborn fetus, placenta, and cytologic specimens,
Parents have the option to consent to an autopsy or not,
Establish a database that contains a confidential record of all data collected; data will be made available to public through org/agency website with no identifying information,
The data will be evaluated by a third party, such as an institution of higher learning.
Justification
There is currently no standardized way to address stillbirth cases in healthcare facilities that provide birthing and newborn services across the state.
Legislative history
A new bill.
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect sixty days after it has become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.