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HB 717 - Newborns; advisory committee; screenings

Harrell, Sally Roettger (62nd)	Randall, William (Billy) C (127th)	Trense, Sharon (44th)
Graves, David B (125th)	Bordeaux, Tom (151st)	Scheid, III, Charles F (17th)

Status Summary	HC:	H&E	SC:	H&HS	FR:	02/22/99	LA:	03/24/99	Amend/Sub Agreed To

First Reader Summary

A BILL to amend Chapter 1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding health, so as to provide for legislative findings and intent; to establish an advisory committee on newborn infants and provide for its selection, compensation, powers, qualifications, and duties; and for other purposes.

Code Sections - 31-1-3.2

HB 717                                          LC 11 9839S/2 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                        A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 
                               AN ACT 
 
 
  1- 1  To amend Chapter 1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of 
  1- 2  Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding 
  1- 3  health, so as to provide for legislative findings and 
  1- 4  intent; to provide for a definition; to establish an 
  1- 5  advisory committee on newborn infants and provide for its 
  1- 6  selection, compensation, powers, qualifications, and duties; 
  1- 7  to provide for newborn screening of newborn infants under 
  1- 8  certain conditions and for education of parents and 
  1- 9  guardians regarding the importance of such screening and 
  1-10  early identification and intervention; to provide for 
  1-11  hospital and other reports; to provide for rules; to require 
  1-12  the provision of information and encourage cooperative 
  1-13  efforts; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting 
  1-14  laws; and for other purposes. 
 
  1-15       BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: 
 
  1-16                           SECTION 1. 
 
  1-17  Chapter 1 of Title 31 of the Official Code of Georgia 
  1-18  Annotated, relating to general provisions regarding health, 
  1-19  is amended by adding after Code Section 31-1-3.1 a new Code 
  1-20  section to read as follows: 
 
  1-21    "31-1-3.2. 
 
  1-22    (a) The General Assembly finds, determines, and declares: 
 
  1-23      (1) That hearing loss occurs in newborn infants more 
  1-24      frequently than any other health condition for which 
  1-25      newborn infant screening is required; 
 
  1-26      (2) That 80 percent of the language ability of a child 
  1-27      is established by the time the child is 18 months of age 
  1-28      and that hearing is vitally important to the healthy 
  1-29      development of such language skills; 
 
  1-30      (3) That early detection of hearing loss in a child and 
  1-31      early intervention and treatment has been demonstrated 
  1-32      to be highly effective in facilitating a child's healthy 
 
 
 
                                 -1- 
 
 
 
  2- 1      development in a manner consistent with the child's age 
  2- 2      and cognitive ability; 
 
  2- 3      (4) That children with hearing loss who do not receive 
  2- 4      such early intervention and treatment frequently require 
  2- 5      special educational services and that such services are 
  2- 6      publicly funded for the vast majority of children with 
  2- 7      hearing needs in the state; 
 
  2- 8      (5) That appropriate testing and identification of 
  2- 9      newborn infants with hearing loss will facilitate early 
  2-10      intervention and treatment and may therefore serve the 
  2-11      public purposes of promoting the healthy development of 
  2-12      children and reducing public expenditure; 
 
  2-13      (6) The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American 
  2-14      Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American 
  2-15      Academy of Audiology, and the American Academy of 
  2-16      Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery have recently 
  2-17      endorsed the implementation of universal newborn hearing 
  2-18      screenings and recommended that such screenings be 
  2-19      performed in all birthing hospitals and coordinated by 
  2-20      state departments of public health; and 
 
  2-21      (7) That consumers should be entitled to know whether 
  2-22      the hospital at which they choose to deliver their 
  2-23      infant provides newborn hearing screening. 
 
  2-24    (b) As used in this Code section, the term 'newborn 
  2-25    infant' means an infant after delivery but before 
  2-26    discharge from the hospital. 
 
  2-27    (c) For reasons specified in subsection (a) of this Code 
  2-28    section, the General Assembly determines that it would be 
  2-29    beneficial and in the best interests of the development of 
  2-30    the children of the state that newborn infants' hearing be 
  2-31    screened. 
 
  2-32      (d)(1) There is established an advisory committee on 
  2-33      hearing in newborn infants for the purpose of studying 
  2-34      and collecting the informational data specified in this 
  2-35      Code section and reporting such information to the 
  2-36      General Assembly and Governor by December 1 of the first 
  2-37      year following the year this Code section first becomes 
  2-38      effective, and for the purpose of providing 
  2-39      recommendations to hospitals, physicians, and other 
  2-40      health care institutions, the Department of Human 
  2-41      Resources, and the public concerning, but not limited 
  2-42      to, the following: 
 
 
 
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  3- 1        (A) Appropriate methodologies to be implemented for 
  3- 2        hearing screening of newborn infants, which 
  3- 3        methodologies shall be objective and physiologically 
  3- 4        based.  An audiologist is not required to perform such 
  3- 5        screening if performed pursuant to the exception in 
  3- 6        subsection (h) of Code Section 43-44-7; 
 
  3- 7        (B) The number of births sufficient to qualify a 
  3- 8        hospital or health institution to arrange otherwise 
  3- 9        for hearing screenings; and 
 
  3-10        (C) Guidelines for reporting and the means to assure 
  3-11        that identified children received referral for 
  3-12        appropriate follow-up services. 
 
  3-13      (2) The advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants 
  3-14      shall consist of at least nine members who shall be 
  3-15      appointed by the director of the Division of Public 
  3-16      Health of the Department of Human Resources.  Members 
  3-17      appointed to the committee shall have training, 
  3-18      experience, or interest in the area of hearing 
  3-19      conditions in children and shall include at least one 
  3-20      audiologist, one pediatrician, one hospital 
  3-21      administrator from a hospital which offers perinatal 
  3-22      services, one deaf adult, and at least one of such 
  3-23      members shall be a parent of a deaf child. 
 
  3-24      (3) The members of the advisory committee on hearing in 
  3-25      newborn infants shall serve without compensation. 
 
  3-26      (4) The advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants 
  3-27      shall meet as often as necessary to study and collect 
  3-28      the information necessary and report to the General 
  3-29      Assembly and Governor by December 1 of the first year 
  3-30      following the year this Code section first becomes 
  3-31      effective, to develop and make the recommendations 
  3-32      specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection in a 
  3-33      sufficiently timely manner to allow for state-wide 
  3-34      hearing screening of newborn infants by July 1 of the 
  3-35      second year following the year this Code section first 
  3-36      becomes effective, and to make recommendations to 
  3-37      promote universal newborn infant hearing screening 
  3-38      pursuant to subsection (h) of this Code section. 
 
  3-39      (5) This subsection is automatically repealed effective 
  3-40      July 1 of the fifth year following the year this Code 
  3-41      section first becomes effective. 
 
 
 
 
                                 -3- 
 
 
 
  4- 1    (e) It is the intent of the General Assembly that, by July 
  4- 2    1 of the second year following the year this Code section 
  4- 3    first becomes effective, newborn hearing screening be 
  4- 4    conducted on no fewer than 95 percent of all newborn 
  4- 5    infants born in hospitals in this state, using procedures 
  4- 6    recommended by the advisory committee on hearing in 
  4- 7    newborn infants, created in subsection (d) of this Code 
  4- 8    section.  Toward that end, on and after July 1 of the 
  4- 9    first year following the year this Code section first 
  4-10    becomes effective, every licensed or certified hospital 
  4-11    and physician shall educate the parents of newborn infants 
  4-12    born in such hospitals of the importance of screening the 
  4-13    hearing of newborn infants and follow-up care.  Education 
  4-14    shall not be considered a substitute for the hearing 
  4-15    screening described in this subsection.  Every licensed or 
  4-16    permitted hospital shall report annually to the Department 
  4-17    of Human Resources concerning the following: 
 
  4-18      (1) The number of newborn infants born in the hospital; 
 
  4-19      (2) The number of newborn infants screened; 
 
  4-20      (3) The number of newborn infants who passed the 
  4-21      screening, if administered; and 
 
  4-22      (4) The number of newborn infants who did not pass the 
  4-23      screening, if administered. 
 
  4-24    (f) The advisory committee on hearing in newborn infants 
  4-25    shall determine which hospitals or other health care 
  4-26    providers in this state are ordering and administering 
  4-27    newborn hearing screening to newborn infants on a 
  4-28    voluntary basis and the number of newborn infants 
  4-29    screened.  The advisory committee on hearing in newborn 
  4-30    infants shall report to the General Assembly and Governor 
  4-31    by December 1 of the first year following the year this 
  4-32    Code section first becomes effective concerning the 
  4-33    following: 
 
  4-34      (1) The number of hospitals and other health care 
  4-35      providers administering such voluntary screenings; 
 
  4-36      (2) The number of newborn infants screened as compared 
  4-37      to the total number of infants born in such hospitals 
  4-38      and institutions; 
 
  4-39      (3) The number of newborn infants who passed the 
  4-40      screening, if administered; and 
 
 
 
 
                                 -4- 
 
 
 
  5- 1      (4) The number of newborn infants who did not pass the 
  5- 2      screening, if administered. 
 
  5- 3    (g) Subject to available appropriations, the advisory 
  5- 4    committee on hearing in newborn infants shall make the 
  5- 5    report described in subsection (f) of this Code section 
  5- 6    available throughout the state and specifically available 
  5- 7    to physicians whose practice includes the practice of 
  5- 8    obstetrics or the care of newborn infants, to consumer 
  5- 9    groups, to managed care organizations, and to the media. 
 
  5-10    (h) If the number of newborn infants screened does not 
  5-11    equal or exceed 95 percent of all newborn infants born in 
  5-12    hospitals in this state by July 1 of the second year 
  5-13    following the year this Code section first becomes 
  5-14    effective or falls below 95 percent at any time 
  5-15    thereafter, the advisory committee shall continue to work 
  5-16    with hospitals and physicians to achieve that goal.  The 
  5-17    advisory committee shall advise and assist hospitals and 
  5-18    physicians regarding the conditions and procedures under 
  5-19    which a parent or guardian of a child may object to and 
  5-20    thereby exempt the child from such screening for religious 
  5-21    reasons.  The advisory committee shall study and address 
  5-22    those hospitals with a low volume of births, as determined 
  5-23    by the Department of Human Resources based upon 
  5-24    recommendations by the advisory committee on hearing in 
  5-25    newborn infants, which may arrange otherwise for newborn 
  5-26    infant hearing screening. 
 
  5-27    (i) A physician, registered professional nurse, including 
  5-28    a certified nurse midwife, or other health professional 
  5-29    attending a birth outside a hospital or institution shall 
  5-30    provide information, as established by the department, to 
  5-31    parents regarding places where the parents may have their 
  5-32    infants' screening and the importance of such screening. 
 
  5-33    (j) The department shall encourage the cooperation of 
  5-34    local health departments, health care clinics, school 
  5-35    districts, health care providers, and any other 
  5-36    appropriate resources to promote the screening of newborn 
  5-37    infants' hearing and early identification and intervention 
  5-38    for those determined to have hearing loss for those 
  5-39    infants born outside a hospital or institution." 
 
  5-40                           SECTION 2. 
 
  5-41  This Act shall become effective only if funds are 
  5-42  specifically appropriated for purposes of this Act in an 
  5-43  appropriations Act making specific reference to this Act and 
 
 
                                 -5- 
 
 
 
  6- 1  shall become effective when funds so appropriated become 
  6- 2  available for expenditure; the commissioner of human 
  6- 3  resources shall not be required to enforce any portion of 
  6- 4  this Act for which funds are not specifically appropriated. 
 
  6- 5                           SECTION 3. 
 
  6- 6  All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are 
  6- 7  repealed. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                 -6-