Leach hopes new report bolsters Pa. mandate for newborn heart screenings

Just as New Jersey implements mandated congenital heart defect screenings for newborns, Pa. Sen. Daylin Leach hopes a new report will move Pennsylvania in the same direction.

Leach, who represents parts of Delaware and Montgomery counties, has already introduced legislation to mandate the screenings for newborns, and says a report approved by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology is in line with Senate Bill 1202’s push to add the screenings to the 1965 Newborn Child Testing Act.

New Jersey will begin screening newborns for congenital heart defects later this month. These defects are a leading cause of death of babies in their first year of life.