House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

House of Representatives
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

Posted:	September 1, 2016 02:07 PM
From:	Representative Angel Cruz
To:	All House members
Subject:	Resolution Designating September 2016 as “Newborn Screening Awareness Month”

I plan to introduce a resolution recognizing September 2016 as “Newborn Screening Awareness Month” in Pennsylvania. Named one of the Top 10 Great Public Health Achievements by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), newborn screening is the practice of screening every baby prior to hospital discharge for certain harmful or potentially fatal conditions that are not otherwise apparent at birth. The Commonwealth’s newborn screening program began in 1965 with testing for phenylketonuria (PKU). You may recall that my legislation (Act 148 of 2014), became law in October 2014 and expanded the list of required diseases for testing from 6 to 12. In addition to the required testing, Pennsylvania provides newborn hearing screening, testing for critical congenital heart disease and follow up screening and services for other diseases. As part of my continued efforts to bring awareness to newborn screening and rare genetic disorders, I am asking that you co-sponsor my resolution. Thank you in advance for your consideration. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my Harrisburg office at 717-705-1925
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Introduced as HR995