AB 508, as introduced, Cristina Garcia. Public health: maternal care.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health and sets forth its powers and duties, as specified. Existing law requires the State Department of Public Health to develop a coordinated state strategy for addressing the health-related needs of women, including implementation of goals and objectives for women’s health.
This bill would establish within the State Department of Public Health, the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative. The bill would require the collaborative to establish a statewide system for purposes of collecting and maintaining data related to, among other things, pregnancy-related maternal deaths. The bill would require any hospital in this state that provides obstetrical services to provide to the department, on a monthly basis, information relating to maternal mortality, as specified.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 137.5 is added to the Health and Safety
2Code, to read:
(a) There is hereby established within the State
2Department of Public Health, the California Maternal Quality Care
3Collaborative, for purposes of advancing California maternity care
4through data-driven quality improvement.
5(b) The collaborative shall do all of the following:
6(1) Establish and maintain a statewide, sustainable, collaborative,
7evidence-based, and data-driven quality improvement system.
8(2) Provide leadership and tools for the achievement of
9documentable and continuous improvements in maternity outcomes
10and a reduction in disparities of care processes and outcomes.
11(3) Engage multiple stakeholders and groups, including, but not
12limited to, clinicians, women, communities, insurers, researchers,
13organizations, and public policymakers, for purposes of working
14together to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes in this
15state.
16(4) Maintain and analyze data provided by hospitals pursuant
17to subdivision (c).
18(c) (1) Any hospital in this state that provides obstetrical
19services shall report to the department, on a monthly basis, data
20relating to its provision of obstetrical services, including, but not
21limited to, information on pregnancy-related maternal deaths and
22rates of obstetric hemorrhage or infection, and recommendations
23relating to maternal mortality prevention.
24(2) The monthly report
required pursuant to subparagraph (A)
25shall be provided no later than 45 days following the end of the
26month for which the data applies and is required.
27(d) The department shall be provided funding for purposes of
28adequately staffing the collaborative.
29(e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall
30have the following meanings:
31(1) “Collaborative” means the California Maternal Quality Care
32Collaborative.
33(2) “Department” means the State Department of Public Health.
34(3) “Hospital” means a general acute care hospital, as defined
35in Section 1250, that provides obstetrical services.
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