What's happening
This bill requires hospitals to report data on premature, low birth weight, and high-risk infants and establishes standardized discharge and follow-up care procedures.
Why it matters
Enables better tracking and analysis of infant health risks. By mandating prompt hospital reporting on premature, low birth weight, and high-risk infants, the bill creates a more comprehensive statewide database. This can help identify trends, causes of complications, and areas needing intervention, which is critical for targeted public health efforts.
Aims to reduce hospital readmissions and improve infant outcomes. The required data includes causes for re-admissions within the first six months of life. This focus on monitoring early health and re-hospitalizations could drive efforts to prevent avoidable complications and improve care continuity after infants leave the hospital.
Promotes consistent, evidence-based care transitions. The law tasks the Department of Health with developing standardized discharge and follow-up procedures, referencing national guidelines and best practices. This should help ensure that all high-risk infants receive coordinated, high-quality care after leaving the hospital, potentially reducing gaps that can lead to poor outcomes.
Supports ongoing quality improvement and policy development. Annual reports to state leaders, including recommendations for health system improvements and technology needs, will help maintain focus on premature and high-risk infant care. This ongoing review process can inform funding, regulatory decisions, and future legislative actions aimed at protecting vulnerable newborns.
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Who cares
General hospitals
They would have to report qualifying births within ten days and admissions during these infants’ first six months, including the reasons for admission.
Providers delivering babies outside hospitals
The person responsible for delivery would have to report premature, low birth weight and high risk births within ten days.
New York State Department of Health
It would define high risk conditions, set reporting formats, issue annual reports and establish standardized discharge and follow-up care procedures.
Follow-up health care providers and home care services agencies
They would be part of the coordinated transition from hospital discharge to follow-up care for premature, low birth weight and high risk infants.
Headline styles
Track High-Risk Infant Births
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1416
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. JENNE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to premature and high risk infant information and quality improvement
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2816-b to read as follows:
§ 2816-b. Premature and high risk infant information and quality improvement. 1. Definitions. For the purpose of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Premature infant" shall mean any infant born thirty-seven weeks gestational or less.
(b) "Low birth weight" shall mean any infant weighing twenty-five hundred grams or less.
(c) "High risk infant" shall mean any infant born with a high risk problem or problems, as defined by the department.
2. Within ten days after the birth of any premature infant, infant with low birth weight or high risk infant, each general hospital or, in the case of a birth outside a general hospital, the person responsible for delivery shall file written information on such birth in a format determined by the department.
3. Within the first six months after the birth of any premature infant, infant with low birth weight or high risk infant, each general hospital shall file written information in a format determined by the department on the admission of such infant to the general hospital including the cause or causes of such admission to the general hospital.
4. The department shall submit an annual report commencing on January first, two thousand nineteen to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate and the minority leader of the assembly on the status of prema-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02436-01-7
A. 1416 2
ture, low birth weight and high risk infants. The report shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) information about the incidence and cause of re-admissions of infants born premature, with low birth weight or high risk within their first six months of life; and
(b) recommendations for improvement of premature, low birth weight or high risk infant health outcomes and ensuring continued health quality improvement, including recommendations concerning technological needs to improve monitoring of premature, low birth weight and high risk infants after discharge from a general hospital after birth.
5. The department shall develop standardized procedures for hospital discharge and follow-up care for premature, low birth weight and high risk infants and shall ensure that standardized and coordinated processes are followed as such infants leave the general hospital and transition to follow-up care by a health care provider and/or home care services agency. The department shall utilize national evidence-based guidelines, including, but not limited to, from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Neonatal Outcomes Improvement Project or the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's national initiative for children's healthcare quality as well as the annual report as required in subdivision four of this section to establish general hospital discharge and follow-up care procedures.
6. The commissioner may promulgate and enforce such rules and regulations as he or she deems necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become a law; provided that effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.