By: Uresti S.B. No. 270
(In the Senate - Filed December 16, 2010; January 31, 2011,
read first time and referred to Committee on Health and Human
Services; April 11, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0;
April 11, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 270 By: Uresti
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to newborn hearing screenings.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subdivision (2), Section 47.001, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(2) "Birthing facility" means:
(A) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 that
offers obstetrical services [and is located in a county with a
population of more than 50,000]; or
(B) a birthing center licensed under Chapter 244
[that is located in a county with a population of more than 50,000
and that has 100 or more births per year].
SECTION 2. Section 47.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and adding
Subsection (f) to read as follows:
(a) A birthing facility, through a program certified by the
department under Section 47.004, shall perform [offer the parents
of a newborn] a hearing screening on each [for the] newborn born at
the facility for the identification of hearing loss before the
newborn is discharged from the facility unless the parent declines.
The birthing facility [screening] shall inform the parents [be
offered] during the birth admission that:
(1) the facility is required by law to screen the
newborn for hearing loss; and
(2) the parents may decline the screening[, and the
parents shall be informed that information may be provided to the
department upon their written consent].
(c) Subject to Section 47.008, the [The] department shall
[may] maintain data and information on each newborn who receives
services under the [a] program.
(e) The department shall ensure that the intervention
described by Subsection (d) is available for a newborn identified
as having hearing loss not later than the sixth month after the
newborn's birth and through the time the child is an infant.
(f) If a newborn or an infant receives intervention services
described by Subsection (d), an intervention specialist shall
report the results of the intervention under Section 47.007(b).
SECTION 3. Chapter 47, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
adding Section 47.0031 to read as follows:
Sec. 47.0031. FOLLOW-UP SCREENING. (a) The program that
performed the hearing screening under Section 47.003 shall provide
the newborn's parents with the screening results. A birthing
facility, through the program, shall offer or refer to the parents
of a newborn with abnormal screening results a follow-up hearing
screening. The follow-up hearing screening should be performed not
later than the 30th day after the date the newborn is discharged
from the facility.
(b) If a newborn or an infant has abnormal screening results
in a follow-up hearing screening, the program that performed the
follow-up hearing screening on the newborn or infant shall:
(1) provide the newborn's or infant's parents with the
screening results;
(2) schedule, or refer for, a diagnostic audiological
evaluation for the newborn or infant; and
(3) refer the newborn or infant to early childhood
intervention services.
SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 47.004, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) In order to be certified, the program must:
(1) provide hearing screening using equipment
recommended by the department;
(2) use appropriate staff to provide the screening;
(3) maintain and report data electronically as
required by the department;
(4) distribute family, health care provider, and
physician education materials standardized by the department;
[and]
(5) provide information, as recommended by the
department, to the parents on follow-up services for newborns and
infants with abnormal screening results; and
(6) be supervised by a physician, physician assistant,
audiologist, or registered nurse.
SECTION 5. Section 47.005, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsection
(d) to read as follows:
(b) A birthing facility that operates a program shall report
screening results to the parents, the newborn's attending
physician, primary care physician, or health care provider, and the
department.
(c) The department responsible for early childhood
intervention services and the infant's physician or health care
provider shall coordinate the diagnostic audiological evaluation
required under Section 47.0031(b)(2) and any appropriate
[Appropriate] and necessary follow-up care for the infant [who
needs follow-up care should be directed and coordinated by the
infant's physician or health care provider, with support from
appropriate ancillary services]. A diagnostic audiological
evaluation must be completed on the infant not later than the third
month after the infant's birth unless the infant has been
hospitalized since birth.
(d) An audiologist who performs a diagnostic audiological
evaluation under this chapter shall report the results of the
examination to the parents, the newborn's attending physician or
health care provider, and the newborn's primary care physician
under Section 47.007(b).
SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 47.007, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) Subject to Section 47.008, a [A] qualified hearing
screening provider, hospital, health care provider, physician,
audiologist, or intervention specialist shall [may] access the
information management, reporting, and tracking system to provide
information[, where available,] to the department, and may obtain
information from the department, [including information] relating
to:
(1) the results of each hearing screening performed
under Section 47.003(a) or 47.0031(a);
(2) the results of each diagnostic audiological
evaluation required under Section 47.0031(b)(2);
(3) infants who receive follow-up care;
(4) [(2)] infants identified with hearing loss;
(5) [(3)] infants who are referred for intervention
services; and
(6) [(4)] case level information necessary to report
required statistics to the Maternal and Child Health Bureau on an
annual basis.
SECTION 7. Chapter 47, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
adding Sections 47.010 and Section 47.011 to read as follows:
Sec. 47.010. RULEMAKING. Not later than January 1, 2012,
the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
Commission shall adopt rules based on the guidelines established by
the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing as they relate to the hearing
screening, diagnostic audiological evaluation, or intervention as
necessary to implement this chapter.
Sec. 47.011. DUTIES OF MIDWIFE. (a) In this section,
"midwife" has the meaning assigned by Sections 203.002 and 301.152,
Occupations Code.
(b) A midwife who attends the birth of a newborn shall refer
the mother to a birthing facility or a provider that performs a
hearing screening in accordance with this chapter.
SECTION 8. Not later than January 1, 2012, the executive
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission shall
adopt a form to document a parent's decision to decline screening as
necessary to implement Section 47.003(a), Health and Safety Code,
as amended by this Act. The form may be posted on the commission's
website.
SECTION 9. Section 47.002, Health and Safety Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2012.
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