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Committee debates freestanding birth-center licensure; health department warns rules and inspections will take time
Summary
The Senate Health & Welfare Committee heard testimony Feb. 18 on S.18, legislation that would license freestanding birth centers in Vermont, drawing support from midwives and caution from the Department of Health and hospital clinicians about rulemaking, inspections and rural transfers.
The Vermont Senate Health & Welfare Committee took testimony Feb. 18 on S.18, a bill to license freestanding birth centers in Vermont, a measure supporters said would expand birthsetting options and produce better outcomes for low-risk pregnancies.
Lauren Raymond, general counsel for the Vermont Department of Health, told the committee the agency “is very supportive of increasing access to choice for birthing individuals” but warned that licensing will require detailed rulemaking, inspection protocols and enforcement resources. “A licensing program is more than just issuing a license,” Raymond said; the department wants authority to adapt national guidelines to Vermont practice and to clarify how a facility’s permitted scope will be defined and inspected.
Dr. Peter Stewart, a board-certified OB-GYN at North Country Hospital in Newport, said he…
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