Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who gave birth to her second child on Monday, is one of just 10 women in Congress to give birth while in office, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Florida, Illinois, Texas, and Virginia.
- Florida: Little Smiles—a nonprofit that donates toys, electronics, and other items to hospitals and families with sick children—has donated mini-luxury cars to pediatric patients at Palms West Hospital. Craig Kelley, a board member of Little Smiles, said he hopes to see kids driving their mini-cars around the hospital as a way to have fun, travel from their room to treatment, and mark their departure when they're discharged (Ramadan, Palm Beach Post, 4/8).
- Illinois/Virginia: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) on Monday became the first U.S. Senator to give birth while in office, delivering her second child, Maile Pearl Bowlsbey, at 7:07 a.m. ET at Virginia Hospital Center. According to the Chicago Sun Times, Duckworth is one of just 10 women to deliver a child while serving in Congress; however, the other children were born to women serving in the House. Duckworth is taking 12 weeks of maternity leave, but her office said she will remain located in Washington, D.C., in case she needs to vote, an aide said (Sweet, Chicago Sun Times, 6/10; Diaz/Serfaty, CNN, 4/9).
- Michigan: Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) on Friday said the state government will stop providing free bottled water to the city of Flint. In announcing the decision, Snyder said the city's water system is "stable" and the lead levels in the city's tap water have not exceeded federal limits for around two years. However, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver (D) voiced concerns about the decision, saying, "We did not cause the man-made water disaster, therefore adequate resources should continue being provided until the problem is fixed and all the lead and galvanized pipes have been replaced" (Fortin, New York Times, 4/8).
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Perinatal care is a high-volume service, accounting for one-fifth of all hospital stays. Yet it is also highly variable, with significant differences in complication rates for both vaginal and cesarean deliveries between hospitals nationwide.
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