Pennsylvania SR 346: A Resolution honoring the 10th anniversary of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank located in Allegheny County.

Bill Text

PRINTER'S NO. 1844
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 346
Session of
2026
INTRODUCED BY FONTANA, BROOKS, MARTIN, PISCIOTTANO, HAYWOOD,
HUGHES, CULVER, SCHWANK, CAPPELLETTI, COSTA AND VOGEL,
JUNE 25, 2026
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JUNE 25, 2026
A RESOLUTION
Honoring the 10th anniversary of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk
Bank located in Allegheny County.
WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank was established
in January 2016 as a regional milk bank accredited by the Human
Milk Banking Association of North America to process and deliver
ethically sourced pasteurized donor human milk to medically
compromised infants across this Commonwealth when their mother's
own milk is unavailable or cannot meet all of their needs; and
WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank was licensed by
the Department of Health under Act 7 of 2020, known as the
Keystone Mothers' Milk Bank Act, which regulates milk bank
operations within this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, A mother's own milk is the optimal nutrition for
newborn infants and is a public health goal for the delivery of
nutrition to all infants; and
WHEREAS, When a mother's own milk is not available, medically
vulnerable infants, including those born prematurely, with low
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birth weights or with congenital or acquired conditions, derive
significant health benefits and avoid devastating health
complications by receiving human milk; and
WHEREAS, Small amounts of donor milk for necessary
supplementation outside of the neonatal intensive unit (NICU)
care setting support the development of a healthy microbiome in
newborns and provide strong maternal breastfeeding support; and
WHEREAS, Volunteer milk donors are carefully medically
screened to ensure that they are healthy and able to donate; and
WHEREAS, Banked donor milk is predominantly pasteurized to
inactivate pathogens, tested for chemicals or substances that
could be injurious to high-risk infants and frozen for storage
and shipping to NICUs and to seriously ill outpatient infants;
and
WHEREAS, The work of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank,
through its Statewide distribution of pasteurized donor milk,
yields decreased mortality rates, shortened hospital stays and
reduced rates of devastating complications in the NICU setting,
while also providing essential nutrition for outpatient infants
with debilitating health conditions; and
WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank advocated for
the passage of Act 32 of 2023, which is known as Owen's Law,
providing access to donor milk for medically compromised
inpatient and outpatient infants on Medical Assistance; and
WHEREAS, The milk bank's dedicated team of employees
processes and distributes nearly 40,000 ounces of donor milk a
month to more than 82 hospital units and dozens of outpatients,
a 700% increase in production since the milk bank opened in
2016; and
WHEREAS, The expanded and growing utilization of donor milk
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has necessitated the need for a larger, upgraded facility by the
Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank, which is located in Bellevue
Borough; and
WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank has fostered
cost-effective and reliable manufacturing and operational
techniques that have resulted in bringing the manufacture of
machinery and equipment needed by milk banks across the country
and in Canada to companies located in southwestern Pennsylvania;
and
WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank has promoted
life sciences and research innovation through its independent
nonprofit Human Milk Science Institute and Biobank, which
addresses the challenges researchers face in accessing human
milk samples by providing academic, industry and government
scientists with de-identified milk samples and data, while also
supporting in-house research; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the 10th anniversary of the
Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank located in Allegheny County; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize that the Mid-Atlantic
Mothers' Milk Bank serves as critical infrastructure vital to
meeting the essential medical and nutritional needs of infants
throughout this Commonwealth.
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