Bill > SB669

This bill establishes a five-year pilot project to help rural hospitals in California provide standby perinatal medical services in areas where maternity units have closed, creating challenges for pregnant individuals to access timely medical care. The bill aims to address the significant problem of rural hospitals closing their maternity units due to workforce and funding challenges, which forces pregnant people to travel long distances for medical care. To participate in the pilot, hospitals must be more than 60 minutes from the nearest full maternity services hospital, cannot have closed their maternity department after January 1, 2025, and must agree to provide basic maternal and neonatal services. Participating hospitals will be required to maintain specific staffing, equipment, and service standards, including having physicians and certified nurse midwives available within 30 minutes, maintaining comprehensive emergency medical equipment, and ensuring trained nursing staff with specific certifications. The State Department of Public Health will develop a monitoring plan to collect and evaluate data on safety, outcomes, and demographics, and will be required to submit a comprehensive evaluation to the Legislature two years after the pilot's completion. The ultimate goal is to test a new model of hospital-based maternity care that can help address the critical healthcare needs of rural communities, particularly in areas where access to maternal healthcare has been significantly reduced.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB669