- Rep. Kelly's bill mandates Safe Discharge Labor Plans for women in active labor.
- Nurse and doctor involved in discharging Wells were terminated for their actions.
- The WELLS Act aims to address systemic racial disparities in maternal care.
Mercedes Wells gave birth to her fourth child in her truck at the side of the road, just minutes after she was sent home from an Indiana hospital while in labor on November 16.
Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, is sponsoring a bill to bar hospitals from turning away or sending home a woman in active labor without a “Safe Discharge Labor Plan,” according to NBC News, which was provided early, exclusive access to the details.
Wells had rushed to Franciscan Health Crown Point Hospital in Crown Point when her contractions were about 10 minutes apart. She didn’t see a doctor, but the nurse told her to go home and come back when labor had progressed more. The baby was born minutes later, delivered by her husband Leon, who had no medical training.
They had been en route to find another hospital, according to ABC7 News.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported the nurse was relaying the doctor’s orders, though Wells never saw the doctor. The article added that Wells was back in the hospital with post-birth issues this week.
Both the nurse and the doctor on duty at the time she was sent home were fired, according to CBS News. The hospital also said in a statement that “cultural competency training” and what the article called a “new exam protocol” for patients leaving a labor and delivery unit would be instituted.
A photo provided to NBC News by Wells’ husband showed her being wheeled from the hospital, clearly in pain. Last week, Wells said, “It says that they don’t care at all for Black women in health and it’s hurtful. We thought that, you know, things have changed at this point in our country and I don’t see a change.”
911 dispatchers led the family to Community Hospital in Munster, where Wells and her baby were recovering Monday, per CBS News.
In a statement, the Crown Point hospital CEO, Raymond Gray, said that “on behalf of Franciscan Alliance and Franciscan Health Crown Point, I apologize to Mrs. Wells and her family for failing to live up to our Franciscan values. We are committed to holding ourselves accountable through our actions so that every patient is heard and receives compassionate, equitable care. Any evidence of actions to the contrary will not be tolerated.”
Not an isolated case
Just the week before NBC reported that a Black woman in Texas had care delayed for the sake of paperwork.
“In a TikTok video that has gone viral, Texas resident Karrie Jones can be seen screaming while a nurse at Dallas Regional Medical Center in Mesquite asks a series of intake questions, including her due date," the article said.
Care was delayed a half hour until paperwork was completed. The baby was born 12 minutes later, the video said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that Black women in the U.S. have a significantly higher maternal mortality rate. At 50 deaths per 100,000 live births compared to 14.5 for white women, they are three times more likely to die from childbirth.
What the bill would do
Kelly has long been interested in maternal mortality, she said in a post on Facebook that announced the new bill. She said in a Facebook Live post that “I brought the issue of maternal mortality to Congress over a decade ago after learning that Black women are three times more likely to die due to pregnancy-related causes than white women. I am renewing my commitment and introducing new legislation to protect moms and babies from preventable deaths and ensure safe care for all families.”
The bill, which will be formally introduced when Congress gets back from its Thanksgiving break, is called the WELLS Act, for Women Expansion for Learning and Labor Safety Act.
In a news conference on the bill, Kelly promised to “Keep up the fight” until every woman, “regardless of color, receives the care she deserves.” She said the bill addresses systemic issues surrounding hospital accountability, maternal care and racial disparity. Hospitals would have to include clinical justifications for sending one home and document patient understanding.
She said Black women are more likely to have negative health outcomes regardless of where they live, their income and other factors.
Wells said she felt like she was treated as “less than human.”
“It’s clear Mercedes’ story isn’t an isolated issue,” Kelly said.
The WELLS Act would also require racial bias training for health care professionals.
Kelly also said she plans to reintroduce the CARE for Moms Act, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Illinois. Statistics cited in the bill say that while nearly 4 million women give birth in the U.S. each year, at least 1,000 die from fatal pregnancy related complications during delivery or postpartum. Another 70,000 suffer near-fatal complications postpartum.
The bill says the U.S. “is the only industrialized nation with a rising maternal mortality rate.” And the vast majority of them — around 80% — are preventable.
The bill would have the secretary of Health and Human Services establish a grant program for the purpose of developing and sustaining “perinatal quality collaboratives” in each state, Washington, D.C. and eligible territories, among other things.