The bipartisan Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act has come to the attention of Wisconsin’s Congressional delegation. U.S. Rep. Tony Wied recently became a cosponsor.
The bill aims to provide training and equipment to medical staff in rural health care facilities, ensuring readiness for emergency obstetric services during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum.
“In recent years, we have seen a decline in dedicated labor and delivery facilities in rural hospitals,” says Wied. “Unfortunately, our own district saw the recent closure of ThedaCare’s Waupaca labor and delivery center. Even before this closure, some women in our district faced travel times of over 45 minutes to safely deliver their baby.”
The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would help hospitals and doctors prepare to handle the obstetric emergencies that come through their doors by creating labor and delivery training programs for non-specialists. It also would provide federal grants for rural facilities to buy better equipment to handle these emergencies and develop a pilot program for teleconsultation services, so that a doctor can quickly consult with maternal health care experts.
