HB4593 Summary

• Amends the Developmental Disability Prevention Act to establish standards for hospital perinatal care, including regional perinatal centers.

• Staffing standards for medical and nursing resources implemented after September 1, 2011 cannot exceed current, nationally-recognized, evidence-based practices.

• All rulemaking must account for locality-specific needs, institutional resources, workforce availability, patient outcomes, and access to care as documented in hospitals' letters of agreement with their Administrative Perinatal Center.

• Requires standards to ensure facilities can stabilize infants before transport, coordinate between maternity care and perinatal centers, manage delivery complications, and review high-risk pregnancies and births.

• Mandates identification and reporting of children born with handicapping conditions or developmental disabilities, plus provisions for parental counseling, referral services, and notification to educational agencies for children requiring special services.