We were very
touched by the HUGE response to our plea for help with the midwifery
licensing issue, as detailed in our last newsletter. More people clicked on
the links to find their lawmakers than any other link we've ever sent. THANK
YOU!
Some of you
asked why this issue was coming up only a year after we last raised it. The
reason is that last year's legislation was a mandate to the Department of
Health to study solutions to the licensing problem. This new legislation is
the outcome of that study.
How You Can Help Even
More!
As a result
of your efforts and the efforts of the midwifery community, the legislation
is making rapid progress. There is now a Senate equivalent in process. This
week, the house bill (1667) will be heard by the House Health Care Committee
at 8am on Wednesday Feb 14th and the senate bill (5757) will be heard by the
Senate Health and Long-Term Care Committee at 10am on Thursday Feb 15th.
It would be
great if we could fill the audience with midwifery consumers. We realize
it's a very long drive to Olympia, but if this legislation doesn't go
through, midwifery will not survive the inevitable increase in fees. A
suggestion: make it a field trip! One client is planning to take her two
elementary-age PSBC alumni with her, so that they can see government in
action. In her words "I want to ensure my kids have midwifery as an option
when they are creating my grandchildren, 20 years from now!"
If you are
interested in more information about where these committee meetings will be
held or if you are interested in carpooling, please contact
liz@birthzone.com
Help to Spread the Word
on Midwifery Care
If you've
had babies in hospital and either at the birth center or at home,
your story could help other moms decide which setting is right for them.
Here's a
request from Janelle Durham, coordinator of Great Starts in Seattle, an
agency that provides wide-ranging education and support for the childbearing
year and beyond:
"I'm working on a publication called "The Great Starts
Guide to Seattle Area Birthplaces", a magazine-style publication that
will be sold in maternity stores, baby boutiques, etc. We're hoping it
will be a tool to help moms find what they're really looking for, and
advocate for what they want.
I've
got lots of data about how rates differ from hospital to hospital and on
how hospital birth and out-of-hospital birth compare, but I'm really
feeling like that doesn't tell the whole story of the fundamentally
different emotional experience.
What
I'd love to have is for moms who have birthed babies in different places
(or dads who were there) to share their perspectives. For example:
-
If they birthed their first baby at Swedish and second at Group
Health, how did the experiences differ?
-
If they had a home birth with their first two, and then had a
hospital birth for the third, how were these experiences different?
The
stories need to be short--no more than 150 words.
I
can't guarantee any of the stories will be published, and I might have
to edit for length. If they are published, I will put a name after it so
it feels like a real woman's story. Each mom can choose whether she
wants to list her own first name there, or she can choose her pseudonym.
I
need these stories in the next few days (a week at the most!) Please
send them to
janelle@greatstarts.org
Thanks for any help you can give to this project!"
Janelle Durham
Program Coordinator, Great Starts
More Info about the
Midwifery Licensing Issue
The Problem
Midwives pay the highest licensing fee of
any healthcare profession. Next year, the fee is likely to be over $3000
for a one year license. By contrast, physicians pay $330, dentists $230,
registered nurses $50. The current law says that each healthcare profession
must fund its own regulatory affairs at the Department of Health. With only
90 licensed midwives in the state, the burden of supporting a department is
huge and growing. As the license fees go up each year, more midwives quit,
leaving fewer midwives to pay the fees the next year. If this trend
continues, out-of-hospital midwifery will become financially impossible.
The Solution
House Bill 1667
and Senate Bill 5757 are going through the legislative process in Olympia
right now. They state that all licensed healthcare professionals will
pay a single fee--$125 per year. The fees for certified and registered
professionals would be $50 and $30.
These bills
offers a permanent, fair solution to the licensing problem. The full text of
the bills can be found at
House Bill 1667
Senate Bill 5757
How You Can Help
Please
call or email your state representatives and state senator and let them know
about this issue and help them understand the importance of midwifery to
families. Contact from constituents makes a huge difference!
To find
out who your state senator/representatives are, go to
www.leg.wa.gov.
You can
also help by supporting the Midwives Association of Washington State, the
group that works tirelessly on many fronts to preserve midwifery.
http://www.washingtonmidwives.org/