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AMENDMENT TO SENATE RESOLUTION 63

2    AMENDMENT NO. ___. Amend Senate Resolution 63 by replacing
3everything after the heading with the following:
 
4    "WHEREAS, An estimated 700 to 900 women now die as a result
5of pregnancy and childbirth-related causes, and over 60 percent
6of the pregnancy-related deaths in the United States are
7preventable; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Illinois had more than 150,000 births in 2016 with
972 pregnancy-associated deaths and 985 infant deaths; and
 
10    WHEREAS, 72 percent of the pregnancy-related deaths and 93
11percent of violent-pregnancy-related deaths were deemed
12preventable in Illinois by review committees; and
 
13    WHEREAS, African American women in the United States
14experience maternal-related deaths at three to four times the

 

 

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1rate of non-Hispanic white women, according to the Mothers and
2Offspring Mortality and Morbidity Awareness Act, introduced by
3U.S. Representative Robin Kelly of Illinois in May 2018; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Non-Hispanic Black women are six times as likely
5to die of a pregnancy-related condition as non-Hispanic white
6women in Illinois, according to the Illinois Maternal Morbidity
7and Mortality Report; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The United States has not been able to submit a
9formal maternal mortality rate to international data
10repositories since 2007, and, in order to be able to calculate
11a formal maternal mortality rate, maternal mortality-related
12data must be streamlined at the State level and extrapolated to
13the federal level; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Leaders in maternal wellness highly recommend
15that maternal deaths be investigated at the State level first;
16and
 
17    WHEREAS, Among the top common causes of pregnancy-related
18deaths in Illinois are hemorrhage, infection, and hypertensive
19disorders of pregnancy; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The State of California has established maternal
21Mortality Review Committees to determine the most prevalent

 

 

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1causes of maternal mortality and recorded and shared data with
2providers and researchers, who have developed and implemented
3safety bundles and care protocols related to preeclampsia,
4maternal hemorrhage, and other prevalent causes of maternal
5mortality; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Public Health
7currently works with the Maternal Mortality Review Committee
8and the Maternal Mortality Review Committee for Violent Deaths
9to review cases of maternal death and to develop statewide
10recommendations to prevent future maternal deaths; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In the State of California, state-based maternal
12quality collaborative organizations have formed obstetrical
13protocols, tool kits, and other resources to improve system
14care and response as they relate to maternal complications and
15warning signs for conditions such as maternal hemorrhage,
16hypertension, and preeclampsia; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Illinois has begun developing protocols and
18resources to address common causes of maternal mortality in the
19State, such as implementing new training material regarding
20hemorrhages through the Obstetric Hemorrhage Education Project
21(OBHEP) in 2016; and
 
22    WHEREAS, The CDC reports that more than half of all

 

 

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1maternal deaths occur in the immediate postpartum period, which
2is between 42 days to a full year after delivery; yet, for
3pregnant women, Medicaid coverage lapses at the end of the
4month on which the 60th postpartum day lands; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Expanding Medicaid and CHIP coverage for pregnant
6and postpartum women has been a part of improving federal
7efforts for the prevention of maternal mortality; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Research has shown that, relative to white
9parents, black patients are less likely to be given pain
10medications, and, when patient medication is given, they
11receive lower quantities; and
 
12    WHEREAS, A 2015 study from JAMA Pediatrics found that black
13children with appendicitis were less likely to receive pain
14medication than their white counterparts; and
 
15    WHEREAS, A study examining disparities in the triaging, or
16giving a degree of urgency to, pediatric emergency department
17patients concluded that black, Hispanic, and Native American
18patients received lower acuity triage scores than whites when
19presenting subjective complaints, such as breathing difficulty
20or abdominal pain; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Researchers have also documented an association

 

 

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1between race and increased mortality from stroke, and others
2have found that minority patients are less likely to receive
3thrombolytics than white patients; and
 
4    WHEREAS, A study in the Proceedings of the National Academy
5of Sciences contributes bias in pain assessment and management
6of patients partially to the fact that about half of medical
7students and residents believed inaccurate biological
8differences between black and white people, including that
9black people have less sensitive nerve endings or that a black
10person's blood coagulates more quickly, as well as other
11unconscious biases; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Biases in patient assessment and treatment affect
13the level of care for pregnant women, particularly women of
14color; and
 
15    WHEREAS, The provider pool is not primed with many people
16of color, nor are providers consistently required to undergo
17implicit bias, cultural competency, or empathy training on a
18consistent, on-going basis; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Studies have also shown that women are generally
20less likely to be diagnosed with diseases, such as heart
21disease, and are less likely to receive aggressive treatment
22for pain management and certain diseases than men; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, There have been efforts to address implicit bias
2and cultural competency at the federal level by awarding
3cooperative agreements for the establishment or support of
4regional centers of excellence addressing implicit bias and
5cultural competency in patient-provider interactions for the
6purpose of enhancing and improving how health care
7professionals are educated in implicit bias and delivering
8culturally competent health care; therefore, be it
 
9    RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
10ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State of Illinois
11recognizes the importance of investigating and addressing
12maternal mortality issues in the State; and be it further
 
13    RESOLVED, That we urge the General Assembly to investigate
14and identify areas in which the State can improve with respect
15to the prevention of maternal mortality, especially among
16vulnerable populations."