Supporting the recommendations from the Maternity Care Coalition Report of "Childbirth at a Crossroads" and Calling on the Governor & State Legislature to incorporate the five major issues from the report into the ultimate health care plan that comes from the Commonwealth.

WHEREAS, Governor Edward G. Rendell has prescribed a health care plan for Pennsylvanians, which will attempt to: reduce growing cost of unaffordable healthcare and uninsured adults, expand access to health care services, make healthcare more affordable, and increase wellness through promotion of preventive healthcare; and

WHEREAS, “Childbirth at a Crossroads” is an outline of issues and recommendations that can be implemented into the Governor’s Health plan’s four broad goals; and

WHEREAS, The state should provide diversity in the population of Pennsylvanians, by requiring healthcare facilities to comply with federal standards and identifying the predominant language needs of a community to overcome language barriers; and

WHEREAS, Many women lack access to adequate healthcare, thus sufficient funding provisions through state and local sources to ensure all women receive care; and

WHEREAS, An increase in the number of healthcare professionals to aid low income or minority women to help prevent a decline in the pool of qualified health practitioners by making changes in laws that create reimbursements for use of their skills would be beneficial; and

WHEREAS, Each county in the Commonwealth should issue an annual health “report card” that will highlight maternal and child health indicators to identify significant racial disparities in conjunction with national statement of health goals; and

WHEREAS, The final recommendation of the report suggests balancing medicine of the current day with the needs of families; and

WHEREAS, The state’s healthcare plan must recognize the importance for all families be equipped with family-friendly practices along with sufficient financial support to participate in statewide healthcare; and

WHEREAS, “Childbirth at a Crossroads” is an outline of issues and recommendations to be implemented into the Governor’s Health plan’s four broad goals; now therefore

RESOLVED, That the Philadelphia City Council support the recommendations from the Maternity Care Coalition Report of “Childbirth at a Crossroads” and Calling on the Governor & State Legislature to incorporate the five major issues from the report into the ultimate health care plan that comes from the Commonwealth.

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