Maternity Care Improvement Act of 2010

Bill: 111-hr-6318
Sponsor: Rep. Capps, Lois [D-CA-23]
Introduced: 2010-09-29 in the House
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Child health
Department of Health and Human Services
Education programs funding
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Government information and archives
Health information and medical records
Health personnel
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Medical education
Medical research
Minority education
Sex and reproductive health
Teaching, teachers, curricula
Women's health

Summary:
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: 
Maternity Care Improvement Act of 2010 - Amends the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) establish and maintain a national registry of maternal and infant health information; (2) expand, enhance, and ensure the coordination of programs of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) relating to the reporting and collection of information on maternal and infant health; (3) award grants to vital records jurisdictions for the development and implementation of electronic birth and death systems to collect 2003 standard certificate data and for the training of individuals responsible for completing birth and death certificates; (4) enter into an agreement with the Institute of Medicine to conduct an in-depth analysis of federal, state, and local programs that mitigate maternal mortality and morbidity; and (5) conduct or support research on the comparative effectiveness of clinical practices related to childbirth.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) carry out services and programs for maternal and infant health education and training equivalent to PHSA services and programs of education and training relating to geriatrics; and (2) award grants to eligible entities to develop and implement, in coordination with such programs, initiatives to train and educate individuals in providing evidence-based maternal and infant health care.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) seek to enter into an arrangement with the Institute of Medicine to prepare a report on the creation of a uniform maternity care core curriculum to foster a shared knowledge base among maternity care professionals; (2) make grants to eligible entities or consortia to carry out demonstration projects in academic educational programs to develop, implement, and evaluate such curriculum and interdisciplinary team teaching and learning in maternity care education; and (3) allocate amounts for activities relating to maternity care workforce development. 
 
Requires the National Health Care Workforce Commission to conduct an assessment of current and projected workforce needs for achieving the optimal delivery of maternity care services.
 
Amends the PHSA to require each center for research and demonstration of health promotion and disease prevention to conduct community-based participatory research on maternal and infant health.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to eligible entities or consortia to carry out demonstration projects to increase recruitment of underrepresented minorities into the maternity care professions.
 
Directs the Secretary to designate an official within the Office of the Secretary to coordinate HHS programs and activities relating to maternal health.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2010-09-29
text: Introduced in House