Bill Text: NY S02810 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to establishing protocols for stillbirths and establishing a stillbirth research database.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HEALTH [S02810 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S02810-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          2810
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 29, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  COMRIE, ADDABBO, PARKER -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
        AN ACT to amend the public  health  law,  in  relation  to  establishing
          protocols for the handling of stillbirths by healthcare facilities and
          establishing a stillbirth research database
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding a
     2  new subdivision 31 to read as follows:
     3    31. (a) The commissioner, in consultation  with  the  state  board  of
     4  medical  examiners,  the  New York board of nursing, the state board for
     5  psychology, and the state board  for  social  work,  shall  develop  and
     6  prescribe  by  regulation  comprehensive  policies  and procedures to be
     7  followed by health care facilities that  provide  birthing  and  newborn
     8  care services in the state when a stillbirth occurs.
     9    (b)  The  commissioner  shall require as a condition of licensure that
    10  each health care facility  in  the  state  that  provides  birthing  and
    11  newborn  care  services adhere to the policies and procedures prescribed
    12  in this subdivision. The policies and procedures  shall  include,  at  a
    13  minimum:
    14    (i)  protocols  for assigning primary responsibility to one physician,
    15  who shall communicate the condition of the fetus to the mother and fami-
    16  ly, and inform and coordinate staff to assist with labor, delivery,  and
    17  postmortem procedures;
    18    (ii)  guidelines to assess a family's level of awareness and knowledge
    19  regarding the stillbirth;
    20    (iii) the establishment of a bereavement checklist,  and  an  informa-
    21  tional  pamphlet  to be given to a family experiencing a stillbirth that
    22  includes information about funeral and cremation options;
    23    (iv) provision of one-on-one nursing care  for  the  duration  of  the
    24  mother's stay at the facility;
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00372-01-9

        S. 2810                             2
     1    (v)  training of physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers
     2  to ensure that information is provided to the mother and family  experi-
     3  encing  a  stillbirth in a sensitive manner, including information about
     4  what to expect, the availability of grief counseling, the opportunity to
     5  develop  a  plan  of care that meets the family's social, religious, and
     6  cultural needs, and the importance of an autopsy and thorough evaluation
     7  of the fetus;
     8    (vi) best practices to provide psychological and emotional support  to
     9  the mother and family following a stillbirth, including referring to the
    10  fetus by name, and offering the family the opportunity to cut the umbil-
    11  ical cord, hold the baby with privacy and without time restrictions, and
    12  prepare  a  memory  box  with keepsakes, such as a handprint, footprint,
    13  blanket, bracelet, lock of hair, and  photographs,  and  provisions  for
    14  retaining  the  keepsakes for one year if the family chooses not to take
    15  them at discharge;
    16    (vii) protocols to ensure that the physician assigned primary  respon-
    17  sibility  for  communicating with the family discusses the importance of
    18  an autopsy for the family, including the significance of  autopsy  find-
    19  ings  on  future  pregnancies  and  the  significance that data from the
    20  autopsy may have for other families;
    21    (viii) protocols to ensure coordinated  visits  to  the  family  by  a
    22  hospital  staff  trained  to  address the psychosocial needs of a family
    23  experiencing a stillbirth, provide guidance in the bereavement  process,
    24  assist  with completing any forms required in connection with the still-
    25  birth and autopsy, and offer the family the opportunity to meet with the
    26  hospital chaplain or other individual from the family's religious commu-
    27  nity; and
    28    (ix) guidelines for educating health care professionals  and  hospital
    29  staff on caring for families after stillbirth.
    30    §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 201 of the public health law is amended
    31  by adding three new paragraphs (w), (x) and (y) to read as follows:
    32    (w) establish a fetal death  evaluation  protocol,  which  a  hospital
    33  licensed  shall  follow  in collecting data relevant to each stillbirth.
    34  The information required to be  collected  shall  include,  but  not  be
    35  limited to:
    36    (i) the race, age of the mother, maternal and paternal family history,
    37  comorbidities,  prenatal  care  history, antepartum findings, history of
    38  past obstetric complications, exposure  to  viral  infections,  smoking,
    39  drug  and  alcohol  use,  fetal growth restriction, placental abruption,
    40  chromosomal and genetic abnormalities obtained  pre-delivery,  infection
    41  in  premature fetus, cord accident, including evidence of obstruction or
    42  circulatory compromise, history  of  thromboembolism,  and  whether  the
    43  mother gave birth before; and
    44    (ii)  documentation  of the evaluation of a stillborn fetus, placenta,
    45  and cytologic specimen that conform to the standards established by  the
    46  American  College  of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and meet any other
    47  requirements deemed by the commissioner as necessary, including, but not
    48  limited to, the following components:
    49    (A) if the parents consent to a complete autopsy: the  weight  of  the
    50  fetus  and placenta, head circumference, length of fetus, foot length if
    51  stillbirth occurred before twenty-three weeks of gestation, and notation
    52  of any dysmorphic feature; photograph of the  whole  body,  frontal  and
    53  profile  of face, extremities and palms, close-up of any specific abnor-
    54  malities; examination of the placenta and umbilical cord; and gross  and
    55  microscopic examination of membranes and umbilical cord; or

        S. 2810                             3
     1    (B) if the parents do not consent to a complete autopsy, an evaluation
     2  of  a  fetus as set forth in clause (A) of this subparagraph, and appro-
     3  priate alternatives to a complete autopsy, including a  placental  exam-
     4  ination,  external  examination,  selected  biopsies,  X-rays,  MRI, and
     5  ultrasound.
     6    (x)  shall establish and maintain a database that contains a confiden-
     7  tial record of all data obtained  pursuant  to  paragraph  (w)  of  this
     8  subdivision.  The data shall be made available to the public through the
     9  department website, except that no data shall  identify  any  person  to
    10  whom the data relate.
    11    (y) shall evaluate the data obtained pursuant to paragraph (w) of this
    12  subdivision  for  purposes  of  identifying  the  causes of, and ways to
    13  prevent, stillbirths, and may contract with a  third  party,  including,
    14  but  not  limited  to,  a  public institution of higher education in the
    15  state or a foundation, to undertake the evaluation.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect sixty days after it shall have  become
    17  a law; provided, however, that no later than five years after the effec-
    18  tive  date  of  this act, the commissioner of health shall report to the
    19  governor, and to the legislature, on  the  findings  of  the  evaluation
    20  required  pursuant  to section two of this act, and shall include in the
    21  report any recommendations for legislative action that the  commissioner
    22  deems  appropriate. Effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or
    23  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    24  this  act  on  its effective date are authorized to be made on or before
    25  such date.
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