BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey signed omnibus maternal health legislation Friday that will enable pregnant and postpartum individuals to gain access to expanded care options. The legislation creates a pathway for certified professional midwives and lactation consultants to be licensed in Massachusetts, in addition to easing regulatory hurdles to open birth centers for low-risk pregnancies. […]
maternal care
Editorial: Maternal monitoring proposal would help offset medical closures
When UMass Memorial Medical Center closed the Leominster hospital’s maternity ward back in September – over the objections of area residents, nurses, and the Department of Public Health – Gov. Maura Healey commissioned a study on statewide access to maternal health care, as well as access to essential services in northern Worcester County. Results […]
Hospital backlogs push northeast MA care system to ‘high risk’
Major swaths of the state’s health care system are now considered “high risk,” with the crisis largely fueled by a major backlog of patients waiting to be discharged from hospitals, the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association said Monday. MHA indicated the situation is exacerbated by serious financial challenges at Steward Health Care, which on Friday […]
