For Immediate Release -- April 29, 2008News From
Raleigh
Health care issues are extremely
important concerns for North Carolinians. We all want our families
and loved ones to be healthy and strong. As government officials, it
is our job to help make sure you have the options and care you need.
Legislators serve on several interim committees focused on health
care issues. These committees range in scope from public health
service to licensing midwives.
Joint Study Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Public
Safety
The Joint Committee on Autism
Spectrum Disorder and Public Safety studies ways to better train and
educate public servants to deal with autism-specific situations.
The committee focuses on educating first responder units, public
safety personnel, judges, magistrates, district attorneys, and other
related organizations.
Recently the committee has discussed lowering the age for the
Silver Alert System to include autistic children who may be excluded
from the Amber Alert System. The Silver Alert System in the North
Carolina Center for Missing Persons disseminates information about
missing persons with dementia or some other cognitive impairment.
This system will work in cooperation with broadcasters and the
Department of Transportation. A new law (HB 38) expands the number
of people who can request the alert. Caretakers at a care facility
are now authorized to request the alert. Emergency medical workers
can also assist in the search for missing persons suffering from
cognitive impairments.
Joint Legislative Health Care Oversight Committee
The Joint Legislative Health Care
Oversight Committee studies the delivery, availability and cost of
health care in North Carolina. Recently, the committee met and
discussed healthcare access.
Committee members heard
presentations from representatives of The Cecil G. Sheps Center for
Health Services Research, the North
Carolina Retail Merchants Association, the North Carolina Healthcare
Information and Communications Alliance, and the Association of
Community Pharmacists.
The
committee discussed using other providers of healthcare such as
clinics in retail stores, workforce development issues, and ways
technology can improve access to health care.
Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Mental Health,
Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services
The Joint Legislative Oversight
Committee on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and
Substance Abuse Services reviews the development, financing, quality
of service, and delivery of mental health, developmental
disabilities, and substance abuse services. The committee discussed
the increase in length of hospital stays. In recent years, local
management entities (LMEs) received money to develop crisis service
plans used to reduce stays in hospitals.
Committee members have spent time
reviewing monthly system indicators, a workforce development
initiative, and the Mercer Report. Mercer Government Human
Services Consulting conducted a five-month study of the state’s LMEs.
Overall, seven of the state’s LMEs performed above average, 13 were
average, and five were below average. One of Mercer’s major
recommendations is that the state maintain the LME structure with
less than 20 LMEs.
Piedmont Behavioral Health Care LME
(PBH) gave a report on its 1915 b (substance abuse) and c
(developmental disabilities) Medicaid Managed Care Waiver. The LME
has been able to invest Medicaid savings in other areas. PBH has
also been able to manage care, create financial incentives, and
develop medical plans appropriate for its surrounding population.
Three other LMEs (Guildford, Mecklenburg, and Smokey Mountain) will
begin the process for approval of these waivers.
The committee has completed a draft
of its report detailing each of its meetings and its recommendations
for the General Assembly.
Public Health Study Commission
The Public Health Study Commission
studies whether or not county and district health services meet
residents’ needs, workforce and facility needs for each area, and
standards for maintaining those facilities. The commission also
proposes a funding plan for public health care facilities and
studies small counties’ ability to meet core public health
functions.
The commission is divided into four subcommittees to better study
different areas of public health. These subcommittees are
Strengthen Core Public Health, Chronic Disease and Injury, Healthy
Children and Families, and Communicable Disease and Preparedness.
The commission's finalized report can be found at the Legislative
Library or at this website,
http://www.ncleg.net/LegLibrary/. The report includes a summary
of the commission’s meetings, recommendations for the General
Assembly, and draft legislation.
Select Committee on Licensing
Midwives
The Select Committee on Licensing
Midwives has been discussing whether or not North Carolina should
create a procedure for licensing midwives. Nurse midwives are not
certified to perform home births. While Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs)
are certified to do home births, 96 percent of labors done by CNMs
are hospital births. The North Carolina Nursing Board oversees CNMs.
Committee members heard
presentations from people and groups opposed to licensing mid-wives
including the North Carolina Medical Society, the North Carolina OB/GYN
Society, and the Brody School of Medicine Department of OB/GYN.
Opponents of licensing midwives were concerned about the health of
the women and babies, a lack of equipment, and the dangers of
complications. Some people simply feel it is important to have a
physician monitor the health of both the mother and the baby.
The committee also heard from groups
supporting the licensing of midwives including representatives from
the NC Friends of Midwives, the Asheville Area Birth Network, the
North American Registry of Midwives, and a professor from ECU’s
College of Nursing who helped develop the certification in
Tennessee. Supporters claim that since home birth is an option in
North Carolina, the state should license midwives to protect mothers
and babies. There is no way to know how many home births are
actually performed in the state without licensure. It also costs
less to give birth with a midwife. Supporters note that CNMs
undergo significant training and screen heavily so that they don’t
take on women that are high risk. |
