Hilary Gushwa, Miss Pacific Coast International, Lobbies in the California State Capitol for AB1731

May 3, 2012 - PRLog -- Hilary Gushwa was delighted to be able to participate in Lobby Day at the California State Capitol!!  As a member of the You’re the Cure campaign, she is an active participant in legislature that the American Heart Association presents to protect our hearts.

Hilary was asked by the American Heart Association to be a passion speaker, presenting her journey as a Congenital Heart Defect Survivor to Senator Strickland and Assembly members.  Among the 3 pieces of legislation that were being presented was Assembly Bill 1731.

Assembly Bill 1731 was created to mandate congenital heart defect testing on newborns.  By using pulse oximetry, this noninvasive test can let doctors know in seconds if the newborn potentially has a life-threatening heart problem.
Hilary loved sharing how having 2 congenital defects has shaped her life; and how if that testing had been done on her, how it would have fundamentally changed her life for the better.

As a result of her and others efforts, the Bill is now in appropriations!

Text of Assembly Bill 1731:
Existing law provides for the Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening, Tracking, and Intervention program, under which general acute care hospitals with licensed perinatal services, as specified, are required to administer to newborns a hearing screening test for the identification of hearing loss, as prescribed, using protocols developed by the State Department of Health Care Services, or its designee.

This bill would require general acute care hospitals with licensed perinatal services to offer to parents of a newborn, prior to discharge, a pulse oximetry test for the identification of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD), using protocols approved by the department or its designee, as specified. This bill would require the department to phase in implementation of a comprehensive CCHD screening program on or after July 1, 2013, and require 100% participation by these hospitals by December 31, 2016. This bill would require these hospitals to develop a CCHD screening program, as prescribed.