PA Senate Democrats Hold Policy Hearing on Legionella Prevention

Harrisburg – May 5, 2021 – At the request of Pennsylvania State Senators Wayne D. Fontana (D- Allegheny) and John Kane (D- Chester/Delaware), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual policy hearing on Legionella prevention in Pennsylvania and the concern it presents in buildings shut down during the pandemic.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Legionella bacteria are found in freshwater environments. The bacteria can become a health concern when they grow and spread in human-made building water systems which can result in a lung infection known as Legionnaires’ disease. Unfortunately, Legionnaires’ disease is increasing, and Pennsylvania has some of the highest rates of illness year after year.   

Sen. Fontana sponsored Senate Bill 1285 in the 2019-2020 legislative session to address the legionella as Pennsylvanians return to work.

“My bill will make Legionella testing a required part of water management and will bridge the regulatory gap that now exists. The disease was discovered after an outbreak in Philadelphia in 1976.  Allegheny County was responsible for issuing the first guidelines for prevention of the disease that has since been used as the basis for other guidance in the U.S. and worldwide. My legislation would put us on track to once again lead the nation on Legionella prevention,” Sen Fontana said. 

Sen. Kane continued, “I’ve dealt with concerns about legionella for years — I spent four decades as a union plumber, where my job was to make sure businesses and residents had clean and safe water. Luckily, Legionnaires’ disease is 90 percent preventable through the implementation of water management plans. This bill requires owners and operators of public water systems to take action to prevent and control the spread of legionella and increased cases of Legionnaires’ disease. It’s a commitment to the health and safety of our residents, just like the commitment I made as a plumber.”

Legionella spread is especially concerning as buildings reopen after long stretches of time due to COVID-19 lockdown measures, according to researchers at the Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, and Emory University. 

Dr. Hung Cheung, President Cogency Solutions Professor at UPenn’s Perelman School of Medicine, said that 96 percent of Legionnaire’s disease cases are individual cases and not outbreaks. He said that focusing on Legionella exposure to people in their homes is important, as is public policy focused on the root causes of legionella exposure and cost-effective prevention mechanisms.

“Legionnaire’s disease is a largely preventable disease,” Dr. Richard Miller, Co-Founder/President/Chief Scientific Officer at Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc., said. Dr. Miller also stated that legislation like Senate Bill 1285 can go a long way in saving lives and saving future tax dollars for constituents.

Dr. Janet Stout, president of the Special Pathogens Laboratory Research and Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Swanson School of Engineering, also stated her support for Senate Bill 1285. Dr. Stout is a world authority on legionella diagnosis, detection, prevention, and control and has assisted Senator Fontana in authoring Senate Bill 1285.

“The PA Bill 1285 is not going out on a new limb by advancing public health law for the prevention of building and healthcare-acquired Legionnaires’ disease. Following one of the largest outbreaks of Legionnaires’ disease in U.S. history, New York instituted public health measures to prevent this disease,” Dr. Stout said. Additionally, by permitting facilities to test at their own discretion, as is currently allowed, is leaving a gap in the timely detection of Legionella.

Lisa Daniels, Director of the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protections (DEP) testified at today’s hearing and stated that DEP does take mitigation and detection of Legionella very seriously and is proud of their work so far in addressing Legionella. She said that the department would like to continue conversations with the legislature, other state administration departments, and stakeholders about the best ways to prevent an outbreak going forward.

“It is essential that as Pennsylvanians return to work and adjust to a new normal post-pandemic, the buildings they are reentering are free from any known harms, such as legionella bacteria,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said. “I was honored to host policy hearings throughout this pandemic about how to best address the issues facing Pennsylvanians, and especially as Pennsylvanians return to work.”

Below are all who participated in today’s hearing:

• Dr. Hung Cheung, MD, MPH, FACOEM, President Cogency Solutions Professor, UPenn’s Perelman School of Medicine
• Dr. Janet Stout, Ph.D., President, Special Pathogens Laboratory Research Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
• Dr. Richard Miller, Ph.D., Co-Founder/President/Chief Scientific Officer at Environmental Safety Technologies, Inc
• Patsy Root, MS, Regulatory Affairs Manager, IDEXX Water
• Lisa Daniels, Director of the Bureau of Safe Drinking Water, PA DEP
• Serena DiMagno, Chair of Legislative & Regulatory Affairs, Water Works Operators’ Association of Pennsylvania (WWOAP)

The full recording of this roundtable, as well as the written testimony from participants, can be found at senatormuth.com/policy. A full recording of this hearing can also be found on the PA Senate Democratic Facebook page.

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PA Senate Democrats Joined by PA Sec. of Ag & Second Lady Gisele Fetterman for Policy Hearing on Food Insecurity in Pennsylvania

Harrisburg – April 30, 2021 – At the request of Pennsylvania State Senators Judy Schwank (D- Berks), Tina Tartaglione (D- Philadelphia), and Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual policy hearing to discuss the issue of food insecurity in Pennsylvania.

“The pandemic has exposed many issues over the last year, but perhaps most striking of all is the issue of food insecurity,” Schwank said. “I know few of us will forget seeing the long lines of families waiting for food assistance. Today we learned how our local food banks met the extraordinary challenge of feeding our communities and what we need to consider moving forward as the issue of food insecurity is far from solved.”

Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding said that reports compiled by the organization Feeding America show that the number of Pennsylvanians facing food insecurity in 2020 grew substantially to 1.77 million individuals, an increase of 30 percent. The number of children in Pennsylvania facing food insecurity rose to 537,080, an increase of nearly 40 percent in just one year.

“Food Insecurity is defined as the lack of access to enough food for a healthy and active life and at its core equals hunger. Across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it is estimated that 11% of the population is food insecure with the highest percentage right here in Philadelphia county,” Dixie James, President and COO of Einstein Healthcare Network, said.

Second Lady of Pennsylvania, Gisele Fetterman, also testified at the hearing about her work to address food insecurity through Free Store 15104 and 412 Food Rescue.

“My work exists because of failures in policy,” Fetterman said.

She said that making a state law to prevent perfectly good food from going to waste, as numerous other states have done, would help to address food insecurity by redirecting resources, and also addressing the environmental impact of discarding perfectly good food that could otherwise feed populations.

“We know it is not a lack of food, it is how food gets distributed,” Dr. Kathy Reeves, Senior Associate Dean of Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion and Director at the Center for Urban Bioethics and Professor of Pediatrics Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, said.

Dr. Reeves also advocated in her testimony to treat food as a prescription to address the overall health of Pennsylvanians.

“Food insecurity is intertwined with so many of Pennsylvania’s chronic ills, problems like poverty and health disparities that have been exacerbated by the lingering coronavirus pandemic,” Senator Tartaglione said. “This thorough conversation is imperative as we seek to make nutrition universally accessible in the Commonwealth.”

Loree Jones, CEO of Philabundance which serves five counties in Pennsylvania, said that 40 percent of the 60 percent increase Philabundance has seen in need this past year were people using the emergency food system for the first time. She said that Feeding America is projecting that nationally more than 42 million people, including 13 million children, may experience food insecurity due to COVID-19.

Secretary Redding said that additional funding to provide food in the pandemic has come from both federal and state resources, providing additional funding for United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) foods purchases through The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP). As of April 17, 2021, food banks in Pennsylvania report having distributed in excess of 2.4 million of these food boxes, weighing more than 51.5 million pounds.

“The lessons learned over this past year have provided us a fresh lens to look at our grant programs to ensure they are equitable and meeting the needs of those we serve. The gaps in the system have been highlighted such as meat processing delays and lack of access to fresh foods. We will continue to enhance our current programs and investigate additional ways to address these needs,” Sec. Redding said. “Additionally, expanding broadband access throughout the commonwealth will assist in providing equal access to resources and e-commerce platforms.”

Scott Cawthern, Acting Deputy Secretary for the Office of Income Maintenance at the PA Dept. of Human Services, also testified about the work that the Dept. of Human Services did in expanding services during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how increased and continued investment in these programs will address food insecurity and improve long-term health outcomes for Pennsylvanians.

“On the state level, we would like to see more coordination between all the food 9 systems in the state including the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), SNAP, NSLP, and others to ensure that eligible families are receiving all the food assistance for which they qualify and to ensure that children and families receive the nutrition supports as they grow,” Cawthern said.

Jay Worrall, President of Helping Harvest Food Bank, testified to the importance of community partners in the distribution of food and resources to families and how increasing funding for its signature food insecurity programs, the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP), and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System (PASS), and increase the flexibility for how those funds can be expended would assist even more Pennsylvanians in need.

“Unfortunately, many Pennsylvanians have been and still are struggling to meet their basic needs. Working families across our state face countless situations, such as jobs paying only poverty wages due to wealth inequality and corporate greed, food deserts, unexpected bills for car maintenance or medical treatment, layoffs, and now a global pandemic, all of which cause temporary or permanent financial instability, food insecurity and hunger. Pennsylvania food insecurity rates have increased from 11.1% in 2018 to over 33% as of March 2020.  According to the PA Department of Agriculture, before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 1.53 million Pennsylvanians endured chronic hunger every day, including 478,500 older Pennsylvanians and about 437,000 children,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said. “Food insecurity makes it impossible to survive let alone thrive.  Every human should have guaranteed access to reliable and nutritious meals.  We need to act urgently to end food insecurity in Pennsylvania and across our nation.”

Below are all who participated in today’s hearing:

• Dixie James, President & COO, Einstein Healthcare Network
• Gisele Fetterman, Second Lady of Pennsylvania
• Secretary Russell Redding, PA Department of Agriculture
• Scott Cawthern, Acting Deputy Secretary for the Office of Income Maintenance at the PA Dept. of Human Services
• Dr. Kathy Reeves, MD. FAAP, Senior Associate Dean, Health Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Director, Center for Urban Bioethics – Professor, Pediatrics Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University 
• Andy Toy, Development and Communications Director, SEAMAAC
• Tyler Ray, Neighborhood Community Organizer, Urban Creators
• Maddy Booth, COO, Vetri Community Partnership
• Mark Edwards, President & CEO, Food Trust
• Loree Jones, CEO, Philabundance
• Jay Worrall, President, Helping Harvest Food Bank

The full recording of this roundtable, as well as the written testimony from participants, can be found at senatormuth.com/policy. A full recording of this hearing can also be found on the PA Senate Democratic Facebook page.

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PA Senate Dems Hold Policy Roundtable to Discuss Bright Future of Labor & Clean Energy

Harrisburg – April 22, 2021 – At the request of Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), the Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual round table discussion on the future of clean energy development and clean energy jobs in Pennsylvania. This hearing was held on Earth Day to honor the history of environmental stewardship this day represents, and to acknowledge the importance of preserving our environment.

“There was a reason president Joe Biden unveiled his historic infrastructure plan here in Pittsburgh,” Costa said. “Our city got its start in the industrial revolution, but as our world has evolved so must the infrastructure that keeps us going. We need clean energy sources that lead us into the future, powered by men and women in family sustaining jobs. Our earth does not have infinite resources, and it is our duty to protect and preserve the health and resources of our planet for future generations.”

As Dr. Patricia DeMarco, Ph.D. and Vice President of the Forest Hills Borough Council, noted, the first Earth Day 51 years ago was strongly driven by the AFL-CIO and the labor movement.

“Our members live and play here, too,” said Kris Anderson, International Representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). He noted that this is one of the major reasons that his union and its members are invested in a clean environment. They know that they and their families will benefit from the clean air, clean water, and sustainable ecosystem it will create.

Joshua McNeil, Executive Director at Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and Vice-President for Civic Engagement at PennFuture, said that he and his organizations believe that President Joe Biden’s American Jobs Act is, “a historic opportunity to invest in infrastructure.”

Darrin Kelly, Allegheny-Fayette County Labor Council President also said that he is very optimistic about President Biden’s plan, and that getting that funding out of D.C. and into our local communities will be a huge part in implementing positive change and developing opportunities for local workers.

Dr. DeMarco spoke about her work with Reimagine Appalachia and their mission to create a 21^stcentury sustainable economy. She said that Pennsylvania could implement a similar mission, and use the process that Reimagine Appalachia did in engaging stakeholders and community members in discussions on all of their priorities to make sure the changes they want to implement are truly benefitting community members and the regions they live in.

McNeil noted that Pennsylvania should recommit to a Blue Green Alliance to make sure that all bills in the Pennsylvania legislature have equal input from both environmental and labor stakeholders. He said it is crucial that these movements are working in conjunction with each other at every step as we transition Pennsylvania from a extraction economy to a regenerative economy.

Anderson, of IBEW, said that as we work to a more sustainable future and cleaner energy sources to power our nation, it is important to also keep things focused on Pennsylvania and its workers’ safety. He said that while larger industries are focused on profit, keeping the workforce and our industries local is better for our economy and allows the state to implement regulations in the clean energy industry that will be transparent and prioritize the workers and communities themselves.

“People who are going to get funding from the federal government are going to be the people with a plan,” Dr. DeMarco said. She said that as focus at the national level shifts to a sustainable economy, Pennsylvania needs to be proactive in making plans for a clean energy future or they will have plans from larger institutions forced upon them and those plans may not be focused on what is best for our local communities.

Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D- Chester), Democratic Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee, said that we need to be looking at the who is represented when we have these conversations, particularly minority communities and communities of color who are disproportionally effected by industrial pollution and other environmental hazards.

Sen. Costa and Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery) said that they were very pleased to have the commitment of the labor community and the environmental community to work closely together in the future, and they will be looking to have more conversations similar to today’s going forward.

“It is both timely and necessary that we are having this discussion today on Earth Day.  The information and dialogue heard today further emphasizes the need to take urgent action to combat the climate crisis, and simultaneously work to transition from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy; where production and industry cycles are waste-free, not harmful to workers, communities, or the planet,”  Muth said. “Impacted entities need to be at the table to ensure a just transition to a cleaner, greener, economically sustainable Pennsylvania.”

Below are all who participated in today’s discussion:

• Dr. Patricia DeMarco, Ph.D., Borough of Forest Hills, Vice President, Borough Council
• Darrin Kelly, Allegheny-Fayette County Labor Council, President
• Joshua McNeil, Executive Director, Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania and Vice-President for Civic Engagement, PennFuture
• Kris Anderson, International Representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)

The full recording of this roundtable can be found at senatormuth.com/policy.

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PA Senate Democrats Hold Hearing on the Effects of COVID-19 on PA Housing Crisis

Harrisburg – March 31, 2021 – At the request of state Senators Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia), Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia), and Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia), the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual public hearing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the existing housing crisis in Pennsylvania.

“For too long, the struggles of Pennsylvanians to find housing, and to stay housed, have been rendered invisible. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a crisis that has been generations in the making, and which is endemic to a society that treats housing as a commodity, rather than as a right. As legislators, we have an opportunity, right now, to listen to our constituents—to make these struggles visible—and to furnish legislative solutions to mitigate decades of neglect and harm,” Sen. Saval said.

To address the worsening crisis that COVID-19 has created, Saval has co-sponsored a bill with Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee and Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks) that would create a framework for mortgage deferment and rent forgiveness, benefitting property owners and renters alike. Senate Bill 466, the Housing Security Act, would mandate mortgage deferment processes for both homeowners and landlords with tenants unable to keep up with their rent.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed just how critical housing is in living a healthy, stable life,” Sen. Hughes said. “We have seen looming eviction crises and many of our people have been constantly at the risk of losing shelter for more than a year. Some have lost their homes and been forced to find other means to survive in the middle of a pandemic. There is something wrong with this picture. The legislature must take steps to address housing access and insecurity immediately, so that our people can have peace of mind as we emerge from this pandemic and beyond.”  

While there have been eviction moratoriums set in place throughout the pandemic at the federal, state, and local level, there are still millions of Pennsylvanians who are behind on their rent.

Through Act 1 of 2021 of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, $569 million was allocated for Pennsylvania households for housing relief, and an additional $278 million has been allocated for emergency rental assistance.

However, all who testified at the hearing today acknowledged that while many more Pennsylvanians are now facing eviction, foreclosure, and housing instability than before the pandemic hit last year, housing issues are nothing new for Pennsylvanians.

“The Chester County Department of Community Development facilitates the annual Point in Time Count, a national effort sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The purpose of this initiative is to determine the number of people currently experiencing homelessness on a given night, to better understand homelessness in Chester County and across the nation,” said Katelyn Malis, Director of Programs at Open Hearth Inc. in Chester County. “The night of 2020’s count there were 499 sheltered and 23 unsheltered individuals for a total of 522 people experiencing homelessness in Chester County and this data pre-dates COVID-19.”

Jessica Lopez of Lancaster County also shared her experience of housing insecurity and issues of unsafe living conditions that were ignored by her landlord, both before and during the pandemic.

“A pipe burst in the ceiling the first week we were here. And then everything shut down because of the pandemic and I lost my job. I’ve been barely hanging on for the past year while I’ve watched friends illegally get evicted,” Lopez said. “I did everything I could, working two jobs, and I still couldn’t find a safe home for my kids. This is a systemic problem. Me and now my kids have been set up to fail. I shouldn’t have to be a superhero to just provide safe shelter for my kids and get them a good education.”

Julie Barry, an Erie County resident, PhD candidate, and social worker, also described how difficult it was for her to rent or buy a home after having losing housing, childcare, and food assistance because she finally got a job in her field and made $2 more than the income limit to qualify for any assistance .

“I am thankful that I can afford housing, I just can’t necessarily find quality housing,” Barry said. She said that even though she is solidly middle class, she cannot get a mortgage to buy a home because she has so much student debt now, and many landlords will not rent to her because she has four children living with her currently and is a single mother even though she can afford to live there.

Barry said that the legislature should do more to regulate leases and landlords. She said that holding the landlords accountable for the quality of their units is essential, as is allowing people to break leases more easily if their living situation becomes untenable.

“The present health pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for these measures. The General Assembly should enact legislation at this time to robustly fund legal assistance for lower-income renters in eviction proceedings and require “good cause” for all residential lease terminations in the Commonwealth,” Kevin Quisenberry, Litigation Director of the Community Justice Project, said in his testimony.

Sen. Shariff Street (D- Philadelphia) said at the hearing that in listening to the testimony, and hearing many complaints from his constituents, it is clear that these housing and rental assistance programs that were set up to help people in the exact situations many of the testifiers found themselves in, these programs are not working as intended. He said that a thorough examination of these programs is clearly needed, as is evaluating how the state funds, or underfunds, these programs.

“We can address the housing crisis by expanding PHARE, the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement fund, managed by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA). By increasing funding for PHARE, the program will create affordable housing for low-to-moderate income people,” Sen. Haywood said.

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) also announced that they would end the statewide moratoriums on utility shutoffs for things such as gas, water, electricity at the end of March 2021. It is estimated by Community Legal Services the resumption of shutoffs will put at least 847,000 households at imminent risk of losing utility services.

“On April 1, 2021, utilities will be permitted to shut off critical utility services to millions of Pennsylvania homes as a means of collecting well over $850 million in residential utility debts accrued throughout the pandemic. Some utilities have plans to begin terminations immediately on April 1, while others will move forward more slowly – rolling out termination notices over the next few weeks. Just 9 days after terminations begin, on April 9, 2021, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program is scheduled to close to new applicants,” said Elizabeth Marx, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project.

To address the utility crisis in Pennsylvania that has been greatly increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Marx recommends improving the availability and accessibility of federal assistance dollars, strengthening consumer protections and debt collections policies, enhance existing universal service programming, and establishing equitable cost recovery of pandemic related expenses.

“Access to affordable housing was a major struggle pre-pandemic.  The COVID-19 crisis has increased this struggle, making affordable housing almost impossible with many throughout our Commonwealth unable to pay rent or mortgages,” said Senator Muth (D- Berks/Chester/Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee.  “Government at all levels needs to invest in people so this struggle ends, and all Pennsylvanians can live with dignity and security.”

Below are all who testified in today’s hearing:

• Chapri Kelly, Philadelphia Resident
• Ashley Butler, Allegheny County Resident
• Julie Barry, Erie County Resident
• Jessica Lopez, Lancaster County Resident
• Carrie Bach, Chief Operations Officer, Voices for Independence
• Willamae McCullough, homeowner from Philadelphia
• Katelyn Malis, Director of Programs, Open Hearth Inc.
• Kevin Quisenberry, Litigation Director, Community Justice Project
• Rachelle Erica Faroul, Lead Researcher of Philadelphia Renters Report, “COVID-19’s Impact on Race and Housing Security Across Philadelphia”
• Elizabeth Marx, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Utility Law Project

 The full recording of this hearing, as well as the written testimony presented at the hearing, can be found at senatormuth.com/policy. A full recording of this hearing can also be found on the PA Senate Democratic Facebook page.

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PA Senate Dems Joined PA House Dems & the PA Women’s Health Caucus for Hearing on Maternal Health and Vaccine Safety Amidst COVID-19

Harrisburg – February 11, 2021 – Yesterday, at the request of PA Women’s Health Caucus chairs Sen. Judy Schwank (D- Berks), Sen. Amanda Cappelletti (D- Delaware/Montgomery), Rep. Mary Jo Daley (D- Montgomery), and Rep. Morgan Cephas (D- Philadelphia), the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee joined the House Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual public hearing to discuss maternal health amidst COVID-19.

“Since the beginning of this pandemic, I have been deeply concerned about both the physical and mental health of mothers and families experiencing childbirth and caring for babies in the shadow of COVID-19,” Schwank said. “We must ensure that mothers and babies are receiving the best care possible and are receiving the support and services they need to maintain a healthy life during and after this pandemic.”

Cappelletti continued, “Women, particularly women of color, have been the most detrimentally impacted by this pandemic. Not only must they navigate health and safety for themselves, but they are often tasked as the primary caregivers and providers for their children and family. As we discuss all aspects of healthcare and the impact COVID-19 has had on women, we must ensure that women’s health and the health of their children are not left out of this conversation.”

Dr. Richard Beigi, an OB-GYN practitioner and president of UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, spoke about the many concerns that pregnant women have had about getting the COVID-19 vaccine, as pregnant women were not specifically included in the clinical trials. He said that he is an advocate for including women in clinical trials from the start.

“There is no reason to think that these vaccines are harmful to pregnant women or their babies,” Dr. Beigi said. He stated that while he has seen no evidence to not vaccinate pregnant women, those who chose not to get the vaccination during their pregnancy should still be fully supported in their informed decision.

During her testimony, Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, a maternal fetal health specialist at Baystate Health in Massachusetts, also spoke on the inclusion of women in clinical trials because, “…excluding women from vaccine trials during a global pandemic really is experimentation in itself when we know that they are at high risk of the disease.”

Dr. Catharine I. Paules, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health, has worked at the National Institute of Health with Dr. Anthony Fauci, and is currently pregnant herself. She shared that she chose to get the Pfizer vaccine for COVID-19 after her pregnancy was at full term, and after reading the medical literature from the United Kingdom about the variant of COVID-19 that anecdotally did have more severe impacts on pregnant women in that country.

Dr. Morgan shared that Baystate Health in conjunction with University of Massachusetts Medical School, has produced documents in 10 different languages to assist pregnant women who are currently making the decision on getting their COVID-19 vaccine, and that information has been downloaded over 35,000 times. She also stated that COVID-19 has had other significant determinants of health including low income, food and housing insecurity and crowding, among other factors.

“The fact that it’s 2021, and women of color are still three times as likely to die giving birth than other women is unacceptable,” said Rep. Cephas. “Access to quality and affordable care should never be based on skin color or zip code, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened these disparities. We must now take what we discussed at today’s hearing and turn it into substantial reforms that reduces improves maternal health outcomes across the commonwealth.”

Dr. Sindhu K. Srinivas, the  Director of Obstetrical Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, said, “I am among many of us who are on the front lines of the maternal morbidity and mortality crisis and am deeply troubled by rising morbidity and mortality rates and associated disparities.”

Dr. Srinivas said that the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the work of her and her colleagues to pilot programs out of Penn Medicine that assist women immediately after they have given birth and go home with their babies. She said that 50% of maternal morbidity and mortality actually occur in this time frame.

Increasing access to broadband internet, increasing digital literacy, making sure that technological resources are available in multiple languages, and making sure that telehealth is reimbursable by insurance companies and Medicaid are all essential in continuing to create programs that increase parity and decease maternal morbidity and mortality, said Dr. Srinivas.

Data has shown that there are an estimated 700 pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S. every year, and three out of five of those deaths are preventable. While maternal mortality rates are declining in other developing countries, but they are rising across the United States.

“The public health social distancing protocols put in place during the pandemic have also increased social isolation. This has left new mothers lacking social support, social interactions, and help with childcare,” Dr. Rhonda C. Boyd, a psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said. “For perinatal women who are of color, especially Black, Latina, and Indigenous mothers, they are also disproportionally being impacted by family members contracting COVID-19 or dying from it. This situation understandably results in increased stress, worry and grief.”

“The impact of this pandemic on women with young families cannot be measured, however, with already limited access to high quality healthcare especially for pregnant persons of color, we must measure the impact to find ways to increase care now and in the future,” Rep. Daley said.

Demia Horsley, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Healthy Start, Inc. of Pittsburgh, stated the importance of doulas in the birthing and post-partum experience of many mothers. Horsley said that pandemic restrictions allowing only one person to be with a woman during birth can be detrimental to a woman’s health during and after birth. Horsley said that a partner may not be the best advocate for a women during the birth and postpartum process, and increasing access to doula services for prenatal, birthing, and postpartum women will create better outcomes in maternal mortality and addressing postpartum depression early and effectively.

“I am so grateful that we were able to bring together the PA Women’s Health Caucus, along with our colleagues in the House, to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on women’s health now, and the impact that this will have on healthcare system for years to come,” Sen. Katie Muth (D- Berks, Chester, Montgomery), chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, said. “These conversations and recommendations are essential to crafting the policies that will protect the lives of moms and babies.”

“Giving a voice to women’s health and the inequities amongst women of color is extremely important and I’m thrilled my colleagues are having these conversations. Concerns may seem routine for medical professionals, but it’s a whole new ballgame for women and we must make sure they are heard,” Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, Chair of the House Democratic Policy Committee, said.

Senators who attended included Senator Democratic Leader Jay Costa (D- Allegheny), Nikil Saval (D- Philadelphia), John Kane (D- Chester/Delaware), Wayne Fontana (D- Allegheny), Lindsey Williams (D- Allegheny), Sharif Street (D- Philadelphia), and Tim Kearney (D- Chester/Delaware).

House Representatives who attended this hearing include Bridget Kosierowski (D- Lackawanna), Joe Webster (D- Montgomery), Melissa Shusterman (D- Chester/Montgomery), Mike Schlossberg (D- Lehigh), Elizabeth Fiedler (D- Philadelphia), Pam DeLissio (D- Montgomery/Philadelphia), Perry Warren (D- Bucks), Kyle Mullins (D- Lackawanna), Ben Sanchez (D- Montgomery), Pam Snyder (D- Greene/Fayette County/Washington), Mike Zabel (Delaware), Regina Young (D- Philadelphia County/Delaware), Joe Hohenstein (D- Philadelphia), Carol Hill-Evans (D- York), Dan Frankel (D- Allegheny), and Summer Lee (D- Allegheny).

Below are all who testified in today’s hearing:

• Dr. Mark Woodland, M.S., M.D., FACOG, Chair & Clinical Professor OB-GYN, Reading Hospital/Tower Health, Interim Academic Chair, OBGYN Drexel University College of Medicine
• Dr. Hyagriv “Hy” Simhan, UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, Division Chief of Maternal Fetal Medicine
• Dr. Richard Beigi, UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital, President, OB-GYN’
• Dr. Aasta Mehta, M.D., M.P.P., FACOG – Philadelphia MMRC, Philadelphia Dept of Health, PA MMRC
• Dr. Sindhu K. Srinivas, M.D., MSCE, Director of Obstetrical Services at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Physician Lead, Women’s Health Service Line, Penn Medicine
• Nicole Chaney, Certified Nurse-Midwife, Reading Hospital
• Markita Glenn, Doula, Pettaway Pursuit Foundation
• Dr. Elizabeth Morgan, Maternal Fetal Health Specialist, Baystate Health
• Dr. Richard S. Legro, M.D, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Public Health Sciences, Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health
• Dr. Catharine I. Paules, M.D., Assistant Professor, Infectious Diseases, Penn State Health College of Medicine and Penn State Health
• Dr. Rhonda C. Boyd, Ph.D., Psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Demia Horsley, M.P.H., CLC (DONA), LCCE, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Healthy Start, Inc.

The full recording of this hearing can be found at senatormuth.com/policy.

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