Add Art 140-A §§6960 - 6965, amd §§6953 & 6954, Art 140 Art Head, Ed L; amd §571, Pub Health L
Establishes the professional practice of community midwifery; defines as the management in the home, birth center, or community setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, including newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for infants; sets requirements for license and practice.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
310--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sens. SALAZAR, BROUK, JACKSON, KENNEDY, MAY, MYRIE, OBER-
ACKER, PARKER, SEPULVEDA, SKOUFIS, WEBB, WEIK -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law and the public health law, in relation
to the practice of certified professional midwifery
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new article 140-A
2 to read as follows:
3 ARTICLE 140-A
4 CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL MIDWIFERY
5 Section 6960. Introduction.
6 6961. Definition of practice of certified professional midwif-
7 ery.
8 6962. Practice of certified professional midwifery.
9 6963. Use of title "certified professional midwife".
10 6964. Requirements for a professional license.
11 6965. Exempt persons.
12 § 6960. Introduction. This article applies to the profession of certi-
13 fied professional midwifery. The general provisions for all professions
14 contained in article one hundred thirty of this title apply to this
15 article.
16 § 6961. Definition of practice of certified professional midwifery. 1.
17 The practice of the profession of certified professional midwifery is
18 defined as the management in the home, birth center, or community
19 setting, of normal pregnancies, child birth, and postpartum care, and
20 shall include newborn evaluation, resuscitation and referral for
21 infants. A certified professional midwife may also provide precon-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00632-03-3
S. 310--A 2
1 ception care as defined by the commissioner. A certified professional
2 midwife shall have collaborative relationships with (a) a physician who
3 is board certified as an obstetrician-gynecologist by a national certi-
4 fying body or (b) a physician who practices obstetrics and has obstetric
5 privileges at a general hospital licensed under article twenty-eight of
6 the public health law or (c) a hospital, licensed under article twenty-
7 eight of the public health law, that provides obstetrics through a
8 physician having obstetrical privileges at such institution, that
9 provide for consultation, collaborative management and referral to
10 address the health status and risks of the certified professional
11 midwife's patients and that include plans for emergency medical gyneco-
12 logical and obstetrical coverage. A certified professional midwife shall
13 maintain documentation of the collaborative relationships and shall make
14 information about the collaborative relationships available to the
15 certified professional midwife's patients. Failure to comply with the
16 requirements found in this subdivision shall be subject to professional
17 misconduct provisions as set forth in article one hundred thirty of this
18 title.
19 2. A certified professional midwife shall have the authority, as
20 necessary, and limited to the practice of certified professional midwif-
21 ery, to prescribe and administer drugs, immunizing agents, diagnostic
22 tests and devices, and to order laboratory tests, as established and
23 limited by the board of midwifery in accordance with the commissioner's
24 regulations. A certified professional midwife shall obtain a certificate
25 from the department upon successfully completing a program including a
26 pharmacology component, or its equivalent, as established by the commis-
27 sioner's regulations prior to prescribing under this section.
28 3. Any reference to certified professional midwifery, or certified
29 professional midwife, under the provisions of this article, this chapter
30 or any other law, shall refer to and include the profession of certified
31 professional midwifery and a certified professional midwife, unless the
32 context clearly requires otherwise.
33 § 6962. Practice of certified professional midwifery. Only a person
34 licensed or exempt under this article or authorized by any other section
35 of law shall practice certified professional midwifery.
36 § 6963. Use of title "certified professional midwife". Only a person
37 licensed or exempt under this article shall use the title "certified
38 professional midwife" in connection with the practice of certified
39 professional midwifery in the state, provided, however, a person
40 licensed under article one hundred forty of this title and who has
41 obtained the credentials pursuant to subdivision two of section sixty-
42 nine hundred sixty-four of this article may also use the title "certi-
43 fied professional midwife".
44 § 6964. Requirements for a professional license. To qualify for a
45 license as a certified professional midwife, an applicant shall fulfill
46 the following requirements:
47 1. Application: file an application with the department.
48 2. Education: achieve and maintain the credential of certified profes-
49 sional midwife from a national certifying body specializing in the
50 certification of certified professional midwives and approved by the
51 commissioner and satisfactorily:
52 (a) complete an accredited educational program for the practice of
53 certified professional midwifery in accordance with the commissioner's
54 regulations; or
55 (b) if an applicant receives a certified professional midwifery
56 certification within twenty-four months of the effective date of this
S. 310--A 3
1 article through another educational pathway, or if certification
2 includes current licensing from another state or country not requiring
3 accredited education, complete the Midwifery Bridge Certificate in
4 accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
5 3. Examination: pass an examination satisfactory to the department and
6 in accordance with the commissioner's regulations.
7 4. Age: be at least twenty-one years of age.
8 5. Character: be of good moral character as determined by the depart-
9 ment.
10 6. Fee: pay a fee of one hundred fifteen dollars for an initial
11 license and a fee of one hundred dollars for each triennial registration
12 period.
13 § 6965. Exempt persons. Nothing in this article shall (a) affect,
14 prevent, expand, or limit any duty or responsibility of a physician,
15 midwife, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within the
16 professional's scope of practice, from practicing certified professional
17 midwifery; or (b) affect or prevent a medical student, midwifery
18 student, certified professional midwifery student, physician assistant
19 student, or nurse practitioner student from engaging in clinical prac-
20 tice in an educational program registered by the department, under the
21 supervision of a physician or board certified obstetrician/gynecologist
22 or midwife, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner, acting within
23 the professional's scope of practice.
24 § 2. Section 6953 of the education law, as added by chapter 327 of the
25 laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
26 § 6953. Use of title "midwife". Only a person licensed or exempt under
27 this article shall use the title "midwife". Only a person licensed
28 under both this article and article one hundred thirty-nine of this
29 [chapter] title may use the title "nurse-midwife". Only a person
30 authorized to use the title "certified professional midwife" under arti-
31 cle one hundred forty-A of this chapter may use the title "certified
32 professional midwife".
33 § 3. Section 6954 of the education law, as added by chapter 327 of the
34 laws of 1992, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 328
35 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
36 § 6954. State board of midwifery. 1. The state board of midwifery
37 shall be appointed by the board of regents on recommendation of the
38 commissioner for the purpose of assisting the board of regents on
39 matters of professional licensing and professional conduct in accordance
40 with section sixty-five hundred eight of this title. The board shall be
41 composed of [thirteen] eleven individuals. Initial appointments to the
42 board shall be such that the terms shall be staggered. However, no
43 members shall serve more than two terms. However, a vacant seat on the
44 board designated for an individual licensed to practice under article
45 one hundred forty-A of this title shall not be counted for purposes of a
46 quorum until it has been initially filled.
47 2. (a) [(1) Seven] Five members of the board shall be persons licensed
48 [or exempt] under this [section] article.
49 [(2)] (b) One member of the board shall be an educator of midwifery.
50 [(b)] (c) Two members of the board shall be persons licensed under
51 article one hundred forty-A of this title.
52 [Two members] (d) One member of the board shall be [individuals who
53 are] a licensed [physicians who are also] physician certified as
54 obstetrician/gynecologists by a national certifying body who demon-
55 strates collaboration with persons licensed under articles one hundred
56 forty and one hundred forty-A of this title.
S. 310--A 4
1 [(c)] (e) One member of the board shall be an individual licensed as a
2 physician who practices family medicine including obstetrics.
3 [(d) One member of the board shall be an individual licensed as a
4 physician who practices pediatrics.
5 (e)] (f) One member of the board shall be an individual not possessing
6 either licensure or training in medicine, midwifery, pharmacology or
7 nursing and shall represent the public at large.
8 3. For purposes of this article, "board" means the state board of
9 midwifery created under this section unless the context clearly indi-
10 cates otherwise.
11 § 4. The article heading of article 140 of the education law, as added
12 by chapter 327 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
13 [PROFESSIONAL] MIDWIFERY [PRACTICE ACT]
14 § 5. Subdivision 6 of section 571 of the public health law, as amended
15 by chapter 444 of the laws of 2013, is amended to read as follows:
16 6. "Qualified health care professional" means a physician, dentist,
17 podiatrist, optometrist performing a clinical laboratory test that does
18 not use an invasive modality as defined in section seventy-one hundred
19 one of the education law, physician assistant, specialist assistant,
20 nurse practitioner, [or] midwife, or certified professional midwife, who
21 is licensed and registered with the state education department.
22 § 6. Subdivision 6 of section 571 of the public health law, as amended
23 by section 1 of part C of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, is amended to
24 read as follows:
25 6. "Qualified health care professional" means a physician, dentist,
26 podiatrist, optometrist performing a clinical laboratory test that does
27 not use an invasive modality as defined in section seventy-one hundred
28 one of the education law, pharmacist administering COVID-19 and influen-
29 za tests pursuant to subdivision seven of section sixty-eight hundred
30 one of the education law, physician assistant, specialist assistant,
31 nurse practitioner, [or] midwife, or certified professional midwife, who
32 is licensed and registered with the state education department.
33 § 7. This act shall take effect eighteen months after it shall have
34 become a law, provided however that the amendments to subdivision 6 of
35 section 571 of the public health law made by section six of this act
36 shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of such subdivision
37 pursuant to section 8 of part C of chapter 57 of the laws of 2022, as
38 amended, when upon such date the provisions of section five of this act
39 shall take effect. Effective immediately, the commissioner of education
40 shall make regulations and take other actions reasonably necessary to
41 implement this act on the effective date of this act.
