Florida Senate - 2010 SB 732 By Senator Bullard 39-00741-10 2010732__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to sudden unexpected infant death; 3 creating the “Stillbirth and SUID Education and 4 Awareness Act”; defining terms; providing legislative 5 findings; requiring the State Surgeon General to 6 prepare and implement a public health awareness and 7 education campaign in order to provide information 8 that is focused on decreasing the risk factors for 9 sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained 10 death in childhood; requiring the State Surgeon 11 General to conduct a needs assessment of the state for 12 the availability of personnel, training, technical 13 assistance, and resources for investigating and 14 determining sudden unexpected infant death and sudden 15 unexplained death in childhood; requiring the 16 Department of Health to make recommendations for 17 increasing collaboration in the investigation and 18 determination of sudden unexplained death in 19 childhood; specifying the duties of the State Surgeon 20 General relating to maternal and child health 21 programs; requiring the State Surgeon General to 22 establish a task force to develop a research plan to 23 determine the causes of, and how to prevent, 24 stillbirth in children; providing for the membership 25 of the task force; providing for reimbursement of 26 travel expenses; requiring that the department submit 27 a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate, 28 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives by a 29 specified date; providing an effective date. 30 31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 32 33 Section 1. (1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as 34 the “Stillbirth and SUID Education and Awareness Act.” 35 (2) LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.—The Legislature finds that every 36 year, there are more than 25,000 stillbirths in the United 37 States. The common diagnosable causes for stillbirth include 38 genetic abnormalities, umbilical cord accidents, infections, and 39 placental problems. A number of risk factors for stillbirth have 40 been described in pregnant women such as maternal age, obesity, 41 smoking, diabetes, and hypertension. Because of advances in 42 medical care over the last 30 years, much more is known about 43 the causes of stillbirth. But for as many as 50 percent of 44 stillbirths, the cause is never identified. The rate of sudden 45 infant death syndrome (SIDS) has been declining significantly 46 since the early 1990s; however, research has found that the 47 decline in SIDS since 1999 can be explained by increasing 48 numbers of sudden unexpected infant death. Many sudden 49 unexpected infant deaths are not investigated and, even when 50 they are, cause-of-death data are not collected and reported 51 consistently. Inaccurate or inconsistent classification of the 52 cause and manner of death impedes prevention efforts and 53 complicates the ability to understand risk factors related to 54 these deaths. The National Child Death Review Case Reporting 55 System collects comprehensive information on the risk factors 56 associated with SUID deaths. As of March 2009, 29 of the 49 57 states conducting child death reviews are voluntarily submitting 58 data to this reporting system. 59 (3) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 60 (a) “Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID)” means the 61 sudden death of an infant younger than 1 year of age which, when 62 first discovered, does not have an obvious cause. The term 63 includes those deaths that are later determined to be from 64 explained as well as unexplained causes. 65 (b) “Sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC)” means 66 the sudden death of a child older than 1 year of age which 67 remains unexplained after a thorough case investigation, 68 including a review of the clinical history and circumstances of 69 death, and performance of a complete autopsy along with 70 appropriate ancillary testing. 71 (4) PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION CAMPAIGN.— 72 (a) The State Surgeon General shall establish and implement 73 a culturally appropriate public health awareness and education 74 campaign to provide information that is focused on decreasing 75 the risk factors for sudden unexpected infant death and sudden 76 unexplained death in childhood, including educating individuals 77 about safe sleep environments, sleep positions, and reducing 78 exposure to smoking during pregnancy and after the child’s 79 birth. 80 (b) The campaign shall be designed to reduce health 81 disparities through focusing on populations that have high rates 82 of sudden unexpected infant death and sudden unexplained death 83 in childhood. 84 (c) When establishing and implementing the campaign, the 85 State Surgeon General shall consult with state and national 86 organizations representing health care providers, including 87 nurses and physicians; parents; child care providers; children’s 88 advocacy and safety organizations; maternal and child health 89 programs; women’s, infants, and children nutrition 90 professionals; and other individuals and groups determined 91 necessary by the State Surgeon General. 92 (5) EVALUATION OF STATE NEEDS.— 93 (a) The State Surgeon General shall conduct a needs 94 assessment in this state of the availability of personnel, 95 training, technical assistance, and resources for investigating 96 and determining sudden unexpected infant death and sudden 97 unexplained death in childhood and make recommendations to 98 increase collaboration for investigation and making 99 determinations. 100 (b) The State Surgeon General, in consultation with 101 physicians, nurses, pathologists, geneticists, parents, and 102 other groups, shall develop guidelines for increasing the 103 performance and data collection of postmortem stillbirth 104 evaluation, including conducting and providing reimbursement for 105 autopsies, placental histopathlogy, and cytogentic testing. The 106 guidelines should take into account culturally appropriate 107 issues related to postmortem stillbirth evaluation. 108 (c) The State Surgeon General, acting in consultation with 109 health care providers, public health organizations, maternal and 110 child health programs, parents, and other groups, shall: 111 1.a. Develop behavioral surveys for women experiencing 112 stillbirth, using existing state-based infrastructure for 113 gathering pregnancy-related information; and 114 b. Increase the technical assistance provided to local 115 communities to enhance the capacity for improved investigation 116 of medical and social factors surrounding stillbirth events. 117 2. Directly or through cooperative agreements, develop and 118 conduct evidence-based public education and prevention programs 119 directed at reducing the occurrence of stillbirths overall and 120 addressing the racial and ethnic disparities in its occurrence. 121 The efforts shall include: 122 a. Public education programs, services, and demonstrations 123 that are designed to increase general awareness of stillbirths; 124 and 125 b. The development of tools for educating health 126 professionals and women concerning the known risks factors for 127 stillbirth, the promotion of fetal-movement awareness and taking 128 proactive steps to monitor a baby’s movement beginning at 129 approximately 28 weeks into the pregnancy, and the importance of 130 early and regular prenatal care to monitor the health and 131 development of the fetus up to and during delivery. 132 (d) By September 1, 2010, the State Surgeon General shall 133 establish a task force to develop a research plan to determine 134 the causes of and how to prevent stillbirth. The State Surgeon 135 General shall appoint the task force, which shall consist of 12 136 members, as follows: 137 1. Three persons who are pediatric health care providers. 138 2. Three persons who are scientists or clinicians and 139 selected from public universities or research organizations. 140 3. Three persons who are employed in maternal and child 141 health programs. 142 4. Three parents. 143 144 Members shall serve without compensation, but are entitled to 145 reimbursement pursuant to s. 112.061, Florida Statutes, for per 146 diem and travel expenses incurred in the performance of their 147 official duties. 148 (6) REPORT.—By October 1, 2012, the State Surgeon General 149 shall submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, and 150 the Speaker of the House of Representatives a report describing 151 the progress made in implementing this section. 152 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010.