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Committee hears calls to address maternity-care deserts and expand APRN hospital access
Summary
Legislators and nursing representatives urged interim work to address closures of obstetric services and to allow advanced practice registered nurses full practice authority for admitting privileges and hospital deliveries.
Toni Decklever of the Wyoming Nurses Association told the joint committee that closures of obstetric (OB) services have created maternity-care deserts in parts of Wyoming and that legislative or regulatory changes are needed to expand access.
"Our state is struggling providing maternity care to many, many of our residents. And with the closure of some of our OB services, it just has become, it's become a real problem," Decklever said. She described two statutory constraints: certified nurse-midwives who are not employed by a physician face limits on hospital deliveries and admitting privileges, while APRNs with full practice authority cannot always obtain admitting privileges.
Decklever asked the committee to consider changing statute to allow APRNs and certified nurse-midwives to practice to the full extent of their licensure, including hospital admitting privileges and delivery privileges when appropriate. She and other witnesses pointed to Montana's programs that train emergency clinicians and family practitioners in labor-and-delivery skills as models for expanding local capacity.
The committee discussed task-force recommendations and asked the Department of Health and stakeholders to provide options during the interim. No legislation was advanced at the meeting; sponsors requested further study and agency briefing.
