DELAWARE STATE SENATE

150th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE SUBSTITUTE NO. 1

FOR

SENATE BILL NO. 122

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PERINATAL QUALITY COLLABORATIVE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. Amend Subchapter IX, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:

§ 197. Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative.

(a)(1) The Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative (“Collaborative”) is established to improve pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns by addressing all of the following:

a. Obstetrical blood loss management.

b. Pregnant women with substance use disorder.

c. Infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.

d. Advancing evidence-based clinical practices and processes through quality care review, audit, and continuous quality improvement.

(2) The Collaborative shall function in cooperation with the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium.

(b) The Collaborative is comprised of the following voting members, or a designee appointed by the member serving by virtue of position:

(1) The Chair of the Delaware Healthy Mother and Infant Consortium.

(2) One member, appointed by the Delaware Maternal Mortality Review Committee.

(3) One member appointed by each birthing institution in the State.

(4) One member, appointed by the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children.

(5) One member, appointed by the Delaware Healthcare Association.

(6) One member, appointed by the Delaware chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

(7) One member, appointed by the Delaware chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

(8) One member, appointed by the Delaware chapter of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

(9) One member, appointed by the Delaware chapter of the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

(10) One member, appointed by the Chair of the Collaborative, who is a consumer advocate for patient-centered care and is committed to and interested in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality.

(c) The Collaborative has 1 non-voting member, appointed by the Midwife Advisory Council, who is a licensed midwife.

(d)(1) The Collaborative shall annually elect a chair and a vice-chair.

(2) A majority of the total voting membership of the Collaborative constitutes a quorum. A quorum is required for the Collaborative to take official action.

(3) The Collaborative may adopt rules and bylaws necessary for its operation.

(e)(1) Each member of the Collaborative shall comply with the provisions under Chapter 58 of Title 29.

(2) The members of the Collaborative serve without compensation. However, members may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary expenses incident to their duties as members of the Collaborative, to the extent that funds are available.

(3) Collaborative expenditures must be made under Chapter 69 of Title 29.

(f) The Collaborative shall do all of the following:

(1) Maintain a core set of quality improvement projects based on best practices and interventions that have a measurable impact on health outcomes.

(2) Identify performance metrics to set statewide quality benchmarks.

(3) Support the use of real-time hospital and facility-based data to perform rapid-cycle quality improvement and advocate for real-time data at a State level.

(4) Share successes of quality improvement projects at hospitals and facilities.

(g) The Collaborative may do all of the following:

(1) Develop a responsive, real time, risk-adjusted, statewide perinatal data system.

(2) Access timely, accurate, and standardized information and utilize perinatal data to drive quality improvement initiatives.

(3) Develop a collaborative, confidential data-sharing network including public and private obstetric and neonatal providers, insurers, and public health professionals and to support a system for peer review, bench marking, and continuous quality improvement activities for perinatal care.

(4) Conduct other activities the Collaborative considers necessary to carry out the intent of the General Assembly as expressed in this section.

(g) The Collaborative is constituted as an independent public instrumentality. For administrative and budgetary purposes only, the Collaborative is placed within the Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health.

(h)(1) The Collaborative is not a public body under Chapter 100 of Title 29.

(2) The meetings of the Collaborative are closed to the public unless otherwise determined by the Chair of the Collaborative, except that the Collaborative shall hold at least 2 public meetings each year to receive comment on the general state of pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns in this State.

(3) The Collaborative shall provide an annual report to the General Assembly containing recommendations for improving pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns in this State.

(4) Any document received or generated by the Collaborative is not a public record under Chapter 100 of Title 29 and is confidential under § 1768(b) of Title 24. Notwithstanding the foregoing, documents received from the public at, agendas for, or minutes of the Collaborative’s public meetings are a public record under Chapter 100 of Title 29, unless determined not to be public record under § 10002( l ) of Title 29.

(5) The Collaborative is a peer review committee under § 1768(a) of Title 24.

SYNOPSIS

This Act creates the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative to improve pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns and such issues as obstetrical blood loss management, pregnant women with substance use disorder, infants impacted by neonatal abstinence syndrome, and advancing evidence-based clinical practices and processes through quality care review, audit, and continuous quality improvement.

This Substitute differs from Senate Bill No. 122 by making technical corrections to conform to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual, including language regarding organizational structure and procedure.

Author: Senator Townsend