Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Committee hears bill to let WIC staff perform capillary hemoglobin screenings without medical assistant registration
Summary
A bill sponsored in the Senate would allow staff at Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinics to perform heel, toe or finger-stick hemoglobin tests without having to register as medical assistants, aiming to expand access to anemia screening in Washington’s WIC program.
Senate Bill 5,244 would exempt WIC clinic staff from medical-assistant registration for the limited purpose of performing hemoglobin tests via heel, toe or finger sticks, the House Health Care & Wellness Committee heard March 14.
Supporters told the committee the change is a technical fix requested by the Department of Health that would remove a workforce barrier that currently forces many WIC participants to seek outside appointments or miss screening entirely.
Emily Poole, committee staff, outlined the current federal WIC program requirements and described the bill’s narrow scope: ‘‘Senate bill 5,244 provides an exemption from requirements…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
