Latest news with #HouseBill1635
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maternal health bills move forward, now Youngkin holds the final say
Tiffany Casby cradles her newborn son Zayne, shortly after birthing him at Embrace Midwifery & Birth Center in Richmond in 2017. (Photo by Cheyenne Varner). For the first time in her career, Nichole Wardlaw feels like policymakers are finally listening — not just to her, but to Black maternal health professionals and the patients they serve. 'I feel like I've been seen and heard, and I've been doing this work for a long time,' said Wardlaw, a certified nurse midwife with two decades of experience. Wardlaw has been a steady presence for parents in need, but in recent years, Virginia lawmakers have also begun to take notice. Their efforts, shaped by voices like Wardlaw's, have led to a slate of maternal health-focused bills moving through the General Assembly — collectively dubbed the 'Momnibus' package. The legislative push follows last fall's Black Maternal Health Summit at the Virginia Capitol, where medical professionals, advocates, and lawmakers from across the state and beyond convened for roundtable discussions and panels. Alongside these conversations, a rural health committee spent months touring Virginia, gathering firsthand accounts of maternal care gaps in underserved communities. The result: a range of proposals aimed at addressing disparities, from requiring implicit bias training for medical license renewals to strengthening obstetrics training in hospitals and expanding support for midwives and doulas — both critical players in bridging maternal healthcare gaps. One piece of the package, Senate Bill 1352, sponsored by Sen. Kannan Srinivasan, D-Loudoun, builds on a 2021 law that allowed midwives to establish private practices after completing 1,000 hours under agreements with other physicians. His proposal, along with House Bill 1635 by Del. Joshua Cole, D-Spotsylvania, would extend that opportunity to other types of midwives, expanding access to maternal care statewide. For Wardlaw, spending 15 years working in hospitals revealed a stark reality — many Black patients didn't feel safe in those settings. Now, as a certified nurse midwife providing care outside hospital walls, she's able to meet clients where they are, which is especially critical for rural patients who face longer travel times after a wave of obstetrics unit closures in recent years. 'What I was finding is that being in the hospital was not beneficial for many Black women,' Wardlaw said. 'A lot were leaving the hospital system because they were afraid.' Studies show Black parents-to-be experience disproportionately negative maternal health outcomes, often due to provider bias. Black women are also more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications, a disparity confirmed by Virginia's Maternal Mortality Review Team. Still, unassisted home births can pose risks if medical complications arise, making midwives like Wardlaw an essential bridge in maternal care. Certified nurse midwives are not only registered nurses but also trained specialists in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum care. Other types of certified midwives may come from different healthcare backgrounds but provide similarly vital services. Several bills in the 'Momnibus' package focus on strengthening midwifery. House Bill 1923, sponsored by Del. Jeion Ward, D-Hampton, seeks to establish pay parity for midwives, while HB 1904, from Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, would ensure midwives and nurse practitioners have 24-hour on-call services. Katie Page, a certified nurse midwife serving Farmville and Lynchburg, sees this legislative session as a turning point. She recalled speaking with lawmakers last summer when the rural health committee visited Farmville, urging them to find ways to support midwifery. 'Magic' is happening around maternal health support this legislative session, Page said. Access to maternal care remains a challenge in Virginia, where 15% of residents lack a birthing hospital within a 30 minute drive, according to a March of Dimes report. Last year, lawmakers allocated state funding to expand OB-GYN and family medicine residencies, hoping to strengthen the workforce. But while doctors trained in Virginia sometimes leave for other states, midwives tend to remain in the communities they serve. Still, Page is encouraged by lawmakers' effort to support a broad range of maternal health professionals and the governor's expressed support for addressing maternal healthcare. 'I'm glad to see lawmakers taking a both/and approach rather than an either/or one' Page said. Wardlaw had high hopes for HB 2102, sponsored by Del. Michael Feggans, D-Virginia Beach, which would have made pregnancy an automatic qualifier for Medicaid enrollment. However, the measure failed. Youngkin has signaled support for some maternal health initiatives, including funding doulas and perinatal hubs in his proposed budget amendments. But he could still block certain bills that reach his desk. One proposal that previously met resistance is SB 740 by Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and HB 1649 by Del. Cliff Hayes, D-Suffolk, which would require implicit bias training for medical professionals during license renewals. Sen. Chris Head, R-Botetourt, co-patroned Locke's bill this year, but a similar measure was rejected in 2023. Rather than outright vetoing it last time, Youngkin proposed an amendment requiring two hours of continuing education on maternal health disparities instead of a broader bias training program. Locke rejected the revision, arguing that his approach fell short. It was 'a case of unconscious bias and a lack of cultural competency,' she said. With the 2025 legislative session wrapping up this week, Youngkin has until March 24 to sign, veto or amend the maternal health bills that make it to his desk. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
16-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WA bill would require REI co-op to reserve board seats for workers
(Photo by) Some Democrats in Olympia think employees should have more representation on REI's board of directors. House Bill 1635, sponsored by state Rep. Cindy Ryu, a Democrat from Shoreline, would require any Washington-based consumer cooperative with more than 2,500 employees to reserve two seats on its board of directors for people who work at the co-op. The bill doesn't mention REI by name, but in an interview with Cascade PBS and KNKX last month, Ryu acknowledged that the bill is directed at the outdoor retail company. She wasn't aware of any other co-ops in Washington it would apply to. (PCC, a large local grocery co-op, has about 1,800 employees, according to a 2024 financial report.) Unionized workers at the REI store in Bellingham requested the bill. The Bellingham store is one of 11 REI stores nationwide that have voted to unionize since 2022. None of the unions have reached a contract yet with the company. REI members vote on board candidates in annual elections. Any REI member is able to nominate themselves to run for a board seat, but bylaw changes in the early 2000s gave the existing board final say over who appears on the ballot. The board's bylaws also prohibit employees from running for board seats. Unionized workers say the process has grown undemocratic and left them without a voice. Several REI employees testified in favor of the bill at a public hearing on Wednesday. 'REI used to take workers' experiences into account when making business decisions and every day people used to serve on the board,' said Andrew Soderquist, an REI employee in Seattle. 'Now there are no meaningful avenues to share our perspectives or give feedback.' Soderquist added that he was shocked to see the REI board recently sign onto a letter supporting U.S Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, a Trump-administration appointee and former governor of North Dakota, who has faced criticism from environmental activists and REI members over his close ties to the fossil fuel industry and a recent order paving the way for oil and natural gas drilling on public lands. REI responded to members' criticisms about Burgum this week, saying the co-op had signed the letter 'in acknowledgement of his work to champion outdoor recreation, the link between health and nature, and establish the Office of Outdoor Recreation in North Dakota.' The company said it disagreed with his recent order regarding drilling on natural lands, and called on members to sign a petition in opposition. An REI spokesperson told Cascade PBS and KNKX that the company did not have a comment on HB 1635. Michael Hutchings, a Washington business lawyer who advises corporations and cooperatives on governance, testified against the bill on Wednesday. 'While this bill may have an admirable goal of elevating employee perspectives to the board, mandating through legislation employee board seats is fundamentally flawed and will create significant problems,' Hutchings said, speaking as an individual. Hutchings said he's concerned that the bill will set a 'dangerous precedent' by targeting one specific company and sending a message to other businesses that lawmakers in Washington are willing to 'legislatively interfere' in a labor dispute. He also worried that employees who sit on the board would open themselves to conflict-of-interest concerns. Unionized REI employees recruited two pro-labor candidates to run in this year's board of directors election: Shemona Moreno, a Seattle activist who leads the climate nonprofit 350 Seattle, and Tefere Gebre, the chief program officer at Greenpeace and former AFL-CIO executive vice president. It's unclear if either of the union-backed candidates will appear on the ballots this spring. An REI spokesperson said the company never received an application from Moreno, even though Moreno shared a screenshot that appears to show her emailing the board her application material before the deadline. The REI board met on Feb. 3 to decide which self-nominated candidates to allow on the ballot. The candidate slate won't be made public until March 3. In anticipation of Moreno and Gebre being left off the ballot, the REI union is urging members to vote No on whomever the board puts forward. Moreno testified in favor of the proposed bill on Wednesday. 'I was shocked to learn that REI banned workers from the board and still hasn't reached a fair contract with employees,' Moreno said. 'I believe large co-ops should have workers on their boards to make sure they stay true to their founding values.' A spokesperson for Rep. Ryu said in an email that if the co-op bill isn't voted out of executive session next week, it is likely dead for the session. This story was produced as part of the Murrow Local News fellows program and can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. Image rights may vary. Contact editor@ for image use requests.
