BILL REQ. #:  S-0349.1 

Read first time 01/24/2003.   Referred to Committee on Health & Long-Term Care.

     AN ACT Relating to newborn hearing screening; adding a new section to chapter 70.83 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature makes the following findings:
     (1) Hearing loss is the number one birth disorder in the United States;
     (2) Every day, thirty-three babies leave the hospital with some degree of hearing loss;
     (3) All children can be evaluated for hearing loss, even children who are only minutes old, using a safe and painless test that is easy to administer;
     (4) Undetected hearing loss present from an early age significantly impairs speech, language, cognitive, and social-emotional development;
     (5) Screening of newborns for early hearing loss would provide personal and financial benefits to the hearing-impaired individual and to society through reductions in the support network costs for hearing-impaired students and adults;
     (6) The majority of states have adopted policies or mandates supporting early hearing detection; and
     (7) The Washington state board of health has recommended adding screening for early hearing loss to the current newborn screening requirements.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 70.83 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of health shall require a hearing screening of all newborn infants before they are discharged from the hospital. However, no screening shall be provided to any newborn infant whose parent or guardian objects upon the grounds that a hearing screening conflicts with their religious tenets and practices.
     Audiologists, clinicians, attending physicians, or other persons performing the screening shall report the results of the screening to the department of health.