New York A 7169: Establishes protocols for the handling of stillbirths by healthcare facilities and establishing a stillbirth research database

Bill Text

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A07169 Summary:

BILL NOA07169 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS S05184

&nbsp

SPONSORBichotte Hermelyn

&nbsp

COSPNSRAnderson, Walker, Levenberg, Seawright, Epstein, Sayegh, Hyndman, Simon, Lucas, Davila, Lunsford

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Amd §§206 & 201, Pub Health L

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Establishes protocols for stillbirths and a stillbirth research database.

Go to top A07169 Actions:

BILL NOA07169 

&nbsp

03/21/2025referred to health

01/07/2026referred to health

Go to topA07169 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA07169 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA07169 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 7169

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN ASSEMBLY

 March 21, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN, ANDERSON, WALKER, LEVENBERG,
 SEAWRIGHT, EPSTEIN, SAYEGH, HYNDMAN, SIMON, LUCAS, DAVILA -- read once
 and referred 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 32 to read as follows:
 3 32. (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;

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD05587-01-5

 A. 7169 2

 1 (iv) provision of one-on-one nursing care for the duration of the
 2 mother's stay at the facility;
 3 (v) training of physicians, nurses, psychologists, and social workers
 4 to ensure that information is provided to the mother and family experi-
 5 encing a stillbirth in a sensitive manner, including information about
 6 what to expect, the availability of grief counseling, the opportunity to
 7 develop a plan of care that meets the family's social, religious, and
 8 cultural needs, and the importance of an autopsy and thorough evaluation
 9 of the fetus;
 10 (vi) best practices to provide psychological and emotional support to
 11 the mother and family following a stillbirth, including referring to the
 12 fetus by name, and offering the family the opportunity to cut the umbil-
 13 ical cord, hold the baby with privacy and without time restrictions, and
 14 prepare a memory box with keepsakes, such as a handprint, footprint,
 15 blanket, bracelet, lock of hair, and photographs, and provisions for
 16 retaining the keepsakes for one year if the family chooses not to take
 17 them at discharge;
 18 (vii) protocols to ensure that the physician assigned primary respon-
 19 sibility for communicating with the family discusses the importance of
 20 an autopsy for the family, including the significance of autopsy find-
 21 ings on future pregnancies and the significance that data from the
 22 autopsy may have for other families;
 23 (viii) protocols to ensure coordinated visits to the family by a
 24 hospital staff train