Senate Bill sb2120
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2120
By Senator Joyner
18-1629-07
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to infant mortality; providing
3 legislative intent relating to the black infant
4 health practice initiative; providing
5 definitions; providing objectives; providing
6 for administration of the initiative; requiring
7 a local community to develop a team to serve as
8 a part of a statewide practice collaborative;
9 requiring healthy start coalitions to conduct
10 case reviews; requiring certain public
11 universities or colleges to provide technical
12 assistance and to assist in determining certain
13 criteria and to present findings and make
14 recommendations; requiring the Department of
15 Health to distribute funding to the coalitions;
16 providing duties of each participating
17 coalition; requiring the department to award
18 grants; requiring the department to conduct an
19 annual evaluation of the initiative; requiring
20 each coalition to submit a report to the
21 Governor and the Legislature; providing
22 immunity to participating coalitions; requiring
23 the department to adopt rules; providing a
24 timeframe for reviewing cases; providing an
25 appropriation; providing an effective date.
26
27 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that pregnancy,
28 birth, and infant health outcomes are internationally
29 recognized as measures of health for a community, as these
30 outcomes are indicators of population sustenance, growth, and
31 quality of life, and
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2120
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1 WHEREAS, the Legislature also recognizes that infant
2 mortality disproportionately affects African-American infants,
3 in the resident infant mortality rate in 2005 for nonwhites
4 (12.5 per 1,000 live births) being more than double the infant
5 mortality rate for whites (5.3 per 1,000 live births), and
6 WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that a continued
7 effort to identify the causes of racial disparities in infant
8 mortality benefits all citizens of Florida, NOW, THEREFORE,
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Black infant health practice initiative.--
13 (1) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.--It is the intent of the
14 Legislature to create a black infant health practice
15 initiative. The initiative shall include reviews of infant
16 mortalities in select counties in this state in order to
17 identify factors in the health and social services systems
18 contributing to higher mortality rates among African-American
19 infants. It is also the intent of the Legislature that the
20 initiative produce recommendations on how to address the
21 factors identified by the reviews as contributing to these
22 higher infant mortality rates.
23 (2) DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
24 (a) "Coalition" means a federal or local healthy start
25 coalition or consortium.
26 (b) "Department" means the Department of Health.
27 (c) "FIMR" means a fetal and infant mortality review
28 committee.
29 (d) "Infant mortality" means the death of a live-born
30 infant within 364 days after the infant's birth.
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2120
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1 (e) "Infant mortality rate" means the number of infant
2 deaths per 1,000 annual live births.
3 (3) OBJECTIVES.--The objectives of the initiative
4 include:
5 (a) Determining the significant social, economic,
6 cultural, safety, and health-system factors that are
7 associated with racial disparities in infant mortality rates
8 through a practice collaborative approach using perinatal
9 periods of risk and modified fetal infant mortality reviews.
10 (b) Developing a series of interventions and policies
11 that address these factors to improve the service systems and
12 community resources.
13 (c) Participating in the implementation of
14 community-based interventions and policies that address racial
15 disparities in infant mortality rates.
16 (d) Assessing the progress of interventions.
17 (4) ADMINISTRATION.--The black infant health practice
18 initiative shall be administered through a collaboration among
19 the department, federal and state healthy start coalitions,
20 and public universities or colleges having expertise in public
21 health. A local community shall develop an interdisciplinary
22 team to serve as part of a statewide practice collaborative.
23 Both perinatal periods of risk and fetal infant mortality
24 reviews may be used. A case review shall be conducted by each
25 participating healthy start coalition using professional
26 in-house staff or through contracts with an outside
27 professional. Public universities or colleges having expertise
28 in public health shall provide technical assistance in
29 developing a standard research methodology based on the fetal
30 and infant mortality review method. Public universities or
31 colleges having expertise in public health shall assist each
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2120
18-1629-07
1 participating coalition in determining the selection of
2 comparison groups, identifying data collection and housing
3 issues, and presenting findings and recommendations. A single
4 methodology for the reviews conducted through the initiative
5 shall be used by each participating coalition. The department
6 shall distribute funding to each coalition that participates
7 in the initiative through annual grants that are subject to
8 specific appropriations by the Legislature.
9 (5) FUNCTIONS OF THE INITIATIVE.--Each participating
10 coalition shall:
11 (a) Develop an interdisciplinary team to oversee the
12 process in its local community.
13 (b) Use perinatal periods of risk methodology when
14 appropriate to examine infant deaths in its community.
15 (c) Use a modified FIMR approach to examine infant
16 deaths in its community by:
17 1. Creating a case review FIMR team that may include
18 obstetricians, neonatologists, perinatalogists, pathologists,
19 registered nurses, social workers, hospital and clinic
20 administrators, social service agencies, researchers, citizens
21 and consumers, and other experts considered necessary to
22 conduct a standardized review of infant mortalities.
23 2. Hiring or contracting with professional staff that
24 may include licensed nurses and social workers to abstract and
25 present individual case reviews that omit identifying
26 information of infant deaths and comparative live births to
27 the case review team.
28 3. Developing abstracts of sample infant mortalities
29 and comparative live births that omit identifying information
30 and that identify social, economic, cultural, safety, and
31 health-system factors that are associated with racial
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2120
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1 disparities in infant mortality rates. The number of
2 abstracted cases that must be conducted by each participating
3 coalition shall be determined by a standard research
4 methodology developed in conjunction with a public university
5 or college having expertise in public health.
6 4. Presenting abstracts that omit identifying
7 information to its case review team at least quarterly for
8 their review and discussion.
9 (d) Develop findings and recommendations for
10 interventions and policy changes to reduce racial disparities
11 in infant mortality.
12 (6) GRANT AWARDS.--The department shall award annual
13 grants through a request-for-proposal process that is subject
14 to specific appropriations by the Legislature. The department
15 shall award five grants to coalitions representing urban
16 counties and five grants to coalitions representing rural
17 counties. Priority of grant awards shall be given to those
18 coalitions representing counties having a nonwhite infant
19 mortality rate at least two times greater than the white
20 infant mortality rate and at least 40 nonwhite infant deaths
21 annually between 2003 and 2005 for urban counties and five
22 nonwhite infant deaths annually between 2003 and 2005 for
23 rural counties.
24 (7) EVALUATIONS AND REPORTS.--The department shall
25 conduct an annual evaluation of the implementation of the
26 initiative describing which areas are participating in the
27 initiative, the number of reviews conducted by each
28 participating coalition, grant balances, and recommendations
29 for modifying the initiative. A participating coalition shall
30 produce a report on its collective findings and
31 recommendations by January 1, 2010, to the Governor, the
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Florida Senate - 2007 SB 2120
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1 President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
2 Representatives, and the Secretary of Health.
3 (8) IMMUNITY.--Each participating coalition, its case
4 review team members, and professional staff are immune from
5 liability pursuant to s. 766.101, Florida Statutes.
6 (9) RULEMAKING.--The department shall adopt rules
7 necessary to implement this section.
8 (10) IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE.--The department shall
9 release a request for proposals in a manner that will allow
10 each participating coalition to begin reviewing cases no later
11 than January 1, 2008.
12 Section 2. The sum of $1 million is appropriated from
13 the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Health for the
14 purpose of implementing the black infant health practice
15 initiative and for one full-time equivalent position is
16 authorized for the purpose of implementing this act.
17 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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20 SENATE SUMMARY
21 Provides legislative intent relating to the black infant
health practice initiative. Provides for the
22 administration of the initiative. Requires a local
community to develop a team to serve as a part of a
23 statewide practice collaborative. Requires healthy start
coalitions to conduct case reviews. Requires certain
24 public universities or colleges to provide technical
assistance and to assist in determining certain criteria
25 and to present findings and make recommendations.
Requires the Department of Health to distribute funding
26 to the coalitions. Provides duties of each participating
coalition. Requires the department to award grants.
27 Requires the department to conduct an annual evaluation
of the initiative. Requires each coalition to submit a
28 report to the Governor and the Legislature. Provides
immunity to participating coalitions. Requires the
29 department to adopt rules. Provides a timeframe for
reviewing cases. Provides an appropriation.
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