BILL NUMBER: S5184
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
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
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose for this bill is to have the commissioner, medical examin-
ers, 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
stillbirth.
 
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 prac-
tices 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, Estab-
lish guidelines for educating hospital staff on caring for families in
the case of a stillbirth, Establish a fetal death evaluation protodol to
collect data to include but not limited to race, age of mother, co-mor-
bidities, prenatal care histories, antepartum findings, history of past
complications, substance use, exposure to viral infections, etc., Docu-
ment 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:
2023-24: S2874 Comrie/ no same as
2021-22: S 1334 COMRIE Same as A 505 Bichotte
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect sixty days after it has become law.

Statutes affected:
S5184: 206 public health law, 201 public health law, 201(1) public health law