At least three babies a day were born dependent on opiates and other narcotics at 37 Pennsylvania hospitals during the first 43 days of a state of emergency declared in response to the opiate and opioid epidemic.
The Pennsylvania health department would not say where the 113 babies were born, nor would it release the names of the hospitals and birthing centers that submitted the birth data between Jan. 10 — when the 90-day disaster declaration was announced — and Feb. 22, which marks the halfway point.
The actual number of babies born in that time with neonatal abstinence syndrome — a collection of symptoms associated with withdrawal from opiate and opioids seen in newborns — might be higher, as only 40 percent of the 93 hospitals statewide with a birthing center or maternity unit have submitted the requested data. Doylestown Health, St. Mary Medical Center, Grand View Health, Holy Redeemer Health System and Abington Hospital-Jefferson Health are the only hospitals in this area with maternity wards.
Health department officials anticipate the number of hospitals submitting NAS data will increase in the near future, spokesman Nate Wardle said. He declined to release the reporting hospitals’ names, citing them as protected information under the state’s Disease Prevention and Control Law of 1955.
The reported cases of neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, are among the first data collected for all babies born to state residents. The data collection is expected to continue until at least April 10, when the disaster declaration expires, unless Gov. Tom Wolf chooses to renew it another 90 days.
Before the disaster declaration, Medicaid data was the only way to track how many babies were born with signs of narcotic dependence. But the government-funded health insurance program for the poor and disabled covers only about 32 percent of births in the state. Medicaid paid for 2,087 Pennsylvania births with an NAS diagnosis in 2016, roughly six babies born every day statewide.
State officials are collecting the data about NAS incidences, as well as non-fatal opiate and opioid overdoses, as part of their effort to create a comprehensive picture of the opiate epidemic in the state. The NAS data will serve as a baseline that could help shape statewide prevention and intervention efforts.
Pennsylvania already had plans to include NAS as part of a larger regulatory package updating reportable illnesses, but it will likely be close to two years before the condition is added to the list.
The state health department’s refusal to release the names of the hospitals that are reporting the NAS births is troubling to Cathleen Palm, founder and executive director of the Center for Children’s Justice in Berks County. The location of the births could provide critical information for policy makers, child and community advocates, she said.
Palm is not surprised that more than half of the hospitals and birthing centers have not submitted NAS data yet. While the state Department of Health announced in 2016 it planned to add NAS to the list of reportable health conditions, there was little groundwork done to determine guidelines for how and what data would be collected, until the disaster declaration created a new sense of urgency, she said.
Palm believes part of the reason for the lack of consensus on data collection is that pregnant substance abusers are an extremely complicated population that fall into multiple categories including medical, behavioral health, child welfare and social services. They are also a population that face the added magnification of stigma, so they are less likely to seek out help, she added.
“They are clearly putting in a good faith effort, but they’re trying to make it up as they go along because it’s only a 90-day window,” she added. “It took us too long to get here, but they are trying desperately to act with due diligence.”
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