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U.S. Senators Katie Britt, R-Ala., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Tina Smith, D-Minn., today announced the reintroduction of their Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, which would offer support for rural health care facilities to provide urgent obstetric care.
The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would help rural hospitals and doctors prepare to handle the obstetric emergencies that come through their doors by creating training programs to help non-specialists respond to emergencies like labor and delivery; providing federal grants for rural facilities to buy better equipment to train for and handle these emergencies; and developing a pilot program for teleconsultation services, so that a doctor at a rural facility helping an expecting or postpartum mother facing an emergency can quickly consult with maternal health care experts.
“Alabama women deserve access to high-quality care throughout their pregnancy journeys, no matter their zip code. The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would equip rural hospitals with the tools, training, and resources to deliver urgent obstetric care throughout Alabama. I’m proud to join Senators Hassan, Collins, and Smith in introducing this critical, bipartisan legislation to support moms and families across our nation,” said Senator Britt.
In Alabama, over a third of the state’s 67 counties are classified as “maternity care deserts,” areas without access to birthing facilities or maternity care providers. Almost 30 percent of women in Alabama currently have no birthing hospital within 30 minutes, exceedingly higher than the national average of under 10 percent.
In the fall of 2023, three Alabama hospitals announced closures of their labor and delivery departments, leaving both Shelby and Monroe counties without labor and delivery services. Last year, one of the last remained birthing units in southern Alabama at Grove Hill Memorial Hospital closed. Alabama also has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation at 38.6 deaths per 100,000 births.
“No pregnant woman should struggle to access quality, affordable health care they need because of their zip code,” said Senator Hassan. “This bipartisan legislation will provide targeted support so that health care facilities in rural New Hampshire and rural communities across the country can get the equipment, training, and resources that they need, and is an important step in ensuring that, no matter where they live, Granite State women can access high quality care during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.”
Access to obstetrics is an issue affecting women nationwide, which is why female senators from both parties and across multiple regions of the country came together to introduce the legislation.
“The closure of labor and delivery units in rural Maine and throughout the nation is an urgent issue that threatens the health and safety of mothers and babies,” said Senator Collins. “By creating new opportunities to improve obstetric readiness in rural communities through skills training, workforce development, and telehealth partnerships, this bipartisan legislation would help reduce care gaps and better ensure that more rural Maine communities have access to the maternal care they need.”
“Regardless of where new and expecting moms live, they should be able to access high-quality health care in their community. But right now, too many women in rural areas don’t have a nearby hospital with adequate labor and delivery services,” said Senator Smith. “I’ve heard from Minnesotans who have to drive hours, sometimes in dangerous conditions like Minnesota snowstorms, just to get to care. It is time to invest in preventing these closures that keep rural families from accessing the quality care they need.”
The full text of the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act can be viewed here.
Senator Britt’s bipartisan reintroduction of the Rural Obstetrics Act follows an effort the Senator led with Senators Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Andy Kim, D-N.J., to officially designate January 23 as Maternal Health Awareness Day. The resolution emphasizes the importance of raising public awareness about maternal health outcomes and promotes initiatives to address and eliminate its disparities.
Both Senator Britt’s resolution and the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act showcase her continued commitment to prioritizing maternal health care. In 2024, she joined Senator Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., in introducing the NIH IMPROVE Act, which would provide consistent support and resources for the National Institutes of Health’s Implementing a Maternal Health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Initiative to conduct important research into the causes of America’s maternal mortality crisis and to improve health care and outcomes for women before, during, and after pregnancy.
Senator Britt also secured critical funding for the NIH IMPROVE Initiative in the Fiscal Year 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. With Senator Britt’s support, the total appropriated in the Committee’s bill for the NIH IMPROVE Initiative would be $73.4 million for FY25.
And, last spring, Senator Britt secured significant funding in the FY24 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act to modernize and upgrade medical equipment and rural health services in Alabama. This funding included $2.6 million for Helen Keller Hospital to replace generators and help more Alabamians receive excellent, high-quality medical care; over $3.9 million for the City of Talladega to support rural emergency services; $2 million for needed medical equipment at Atmore Community Hospital; and $2.5 million in directed spending for the Huntsville Hospital Health System to purchase additional ambulances to serve counties across North Alabama.
