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Committee hears bill to require bereavement training and bereavement devices for hospitals after stillbirths and neonatal deaths
Summary
House Bill 37 would create a perinatal bereavement initiative at DSHS requiring maternity‑level hospitals to offer bereavement counseling and, when available, cooling devices that allow families time with a stillborn or neonatal‑loss baby; multiple parents testified in support and the committee left the bill pending.
The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services heard House Bill 37, presented by Senator Huffman, to create a perinatal bereavement care initiative administered by the Texas Department of State Health Services and to require hospitals with a maternal level of care designation to offer bereavement counseling and make available devices that preserve an infant’s body during a medically recommended hospital stay.
Sponsor Sen. Huffman told the committee the bill, titled “Everly’s Law” in testimony, would prioritize hospitals that lacked cooling devices, treat more high‑risk maternal cases, or deliver higher volumes. The initiative could include state or private grants and would allow the Department to provide staff training, bereavement devices and supporting resources. HHSC and the Perinatal Advisory Council would be involved in creating a recognition program for hospitals that provide bereavement training.
Several family members who experienced infant loss testified in favor. Katie Tallman, who identified herself as Everly’s mother, described having access to “a puddle cot” and a nurse named Carol who “gently guided me through everything” and who “captured her handprints and footprints and preserved them for us.” Tallman said the cooling device gave her “time to bond, to make memories, to say hello and goodbye.”
Andrew Smith said his family received a cuddle cot after the death of his daughter Gemma and that the device “allowed my family and me to heal and grieve authentically.” Jamie Rose, a parent who lost a micro preemie, said bereavement training helps staff “meet families where they are with empathy and understanding” and that cooling beds “give families those precious hours to say goodbye in their own way.”
Dr. David Weissoli, a Houston neonatologist and member of the Texas EMS Trauma and Acute Care Foundation, supported the bill and suggested the state’s 22 regional advisory councils (RACs) could help coordinate bereavement training. He recommended clarifying that hospitals should not lose a maternal level‑of‑care designation if state funds are not available to support the required services.
No one testified in opposition. The committee closed public testimony and left House Bill 37 pending.
