CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

                        SENATE BILL 5841

                        53rd Legislature

                      1993 Regular Session

Passed by the Senate March 9, 1993   YEAS 47   NAYS 0 President of the Senate Passed by the House April 8, 1993   YEAS 97   NAYS 0

CERTIFICATE I, Marty Brown, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 5841 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.

Speaker of the        House of Representatives

Secretary

Approved Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.

FILED

Governor of the State of Washington

Secretary of State                        State of Washington

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                                                     SENATE BILL 5841

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                                                       Passed Legislature - 1993 Regular Session

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Moyer, Prentice, Talmadge, Quigley, Prince, Hochstatter, McAuliffe, Erwin, West, Sheldon and Winsley

Read first time 02/17/93.  Referred to Committee on Health & Human Services.

Requiring an outreach campaign on shaken baby syndrome.

          AN ACT Relating to shaken baby syndrome; adding a new section to chapter 43.121 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that shaken baby syndrome is a medically serious, sometimes fatal, usually unintentional matter affecting newborns and very young children.

          Vigorous shaking of an infant can result in bleeding inside the head, causing irreversible brain damage, blindness, cerebral palsy, hearing loss, spinal cord injury, seizures, learning disabilities, or death.  Many healthy, intelligent infants suffer from shaken baby syndrome because their caregivers were unaware of the dangers.  The damage is preventable through education and awareness.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.121 RCW to read as follows:

          The council shall conduct a proactive, public information and communication outreach campaign regarding the dangers of shaking infants and young children, and the causes and prevention of shaken baby syndrome.

          The public information campaign shall include production and distribution of a readily understandable brochure regarding shaken baby syndrome, explaining its medical effects upon infants and emphasizing preventive measures.

          The brochure shall be distributed free of charge to the parents or guardians of each newborn, upon discharge from a hospital or other health facility.  In the event of home birth attended by a licensed midwife, the midwife shall be responsible for presenting the brochure to the parents of the newborn.

          The public information campaign may, within available funds, also include communication by electronic media, telephone hot-lines, and existing parenting education events funded by the council.

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