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In response to the steady reports of infants seriously injured or killed as a result of violent shaking, Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) prevention advocates have drafted legislation that would direct the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to collaborate with the Department of Social Services and other state and private agencies to develop and implement a comprehensive, statewide initiative to reduce infant death and disability resulting from Shaken Baby Syndrome. The bill, filed by Massachusetts State Senator Susan Tucker (D-Andover) and Massachusetts State Representative John Scibak (D-South Hadley), aims to replicate elements of a pilot program launched over two years ago by the Central Massachusetts SBS Prevention Campaign and coordinated by Massachusetts Citizens for Children. The Tucker/Scibak bill would support implementation of in-hospital SBS prevention education for new parents; education of other caregivers and professionals; support for families and children affected by SBS, and data collection on the incidence of SBS in the Commonwealth. (Source: MCC Newsletter, December 2004.) Co-sponsors of the Tucker/Scibak bill include Rep. Todd M. Smola (1st Hampden); Rep. Cory Atkins (14th Middlesex); Rep. Mary E. Grant (6th Essex); Rep. Robert P. Spellane (13th Worcester); Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (15th Suffolk); Rep. Barbara A. L'Italien (18th Essex); Rep. Bradford Hill (4th Essex); Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein (16th Suffolk); Rep. Robert K. Coughlin (11th Norfolk); Rep. Steven M. Walsh (11th Essex); Rep. Christopher J. Donelan (2nd Franklin); Rep. Mark J. Carron (6th Worcester); Rep. John P. Fresolo (16th Worcester); Rep. David Paul Linsky (5th Middlesex); Rep. James B. Leary (14th Worcester); Rep. Shirley Gomes (4th Barnstable); Rep. Rachel Kaprielian (29th Middlesex); Rep. Stephen Leduc (4th Middlesex); Senator Scott Brown (Norfolk, Bristol, Middlesex); Senator Susan C. Tucker (2nd Essex and Middlesex); Rep. John Keenan (7th Essex); Rep. Kathleen M. Teahan (7th Plymouth); Rep. Peter V. Kocot (1st Hampshire); Rep. Frank I. Smizik (15th Norfolk); Rep. Anne M. Gobi (5th Worcester); Rep. James J. Marzilli, Jr. (23rd Middlesex); Rep. Michael F. Kane (5th Hampden); Rep. Ellen Story (3rd Hampshire); Rep. David B. Sullivan (6th Bristol); Rep. Gale D. Candaras (12th Hampden); Rep. William Smitty Pignatelli (4th Berkshire); Rep. Paul J. Donato (35th Middlesex); Rep. Anne M. Paulsen (24th Middlesex); Rep. Joseph F. Wagner (8th Hampden); Rep. Donald F. Humason, Jr. (4th Hampden); Rep. Jay R. Kaufman(15th Middlesex); Rep. Frank M. Hynes (4th Plymouth); Rep. Alice Hanlon Peisch (14th Norfolk); Senator Karen Spilka (2nd Middlesex and Norfolk); Rep. Benjamin Swan (11th Hampden); Rep. Thomas M. Stanley (9th Middlesex); Rep. John H. Rogers (12th Norfolk); Rep. Timothy J. Toomey, Jr. (26th Middlesex); Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral (13th Bristol); Rep. John W. Scibak (2nd Hampshire); Senator Richard T. Moore (Worcester and Norfolk); Senator Bruce E. Tarr (1st Essex and Middlesex); Senator Edward M. Augustus, Jr. (2nd Worcester); Senator Harriette L. Chandler (1st Worcester); and Senator Pamela P. Resor (Middlesex and Worcester). In addition to the Tucker/Scibak SBS prevention bill, a second bill to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome was filed by Massachusetts State Representative Peter F. Koutoujian (D-Waltham) and Massachusetts State Senator Thomas M. McGee (D-Lynn). The McGee/Koutoujian bill would require birthing hospitals to provide educational materials developed by the Department of Public Health to parents and guardians of newborns to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome. A primary proponent of the McGee/Koutoujian bill was the Massachusetts Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons (MSEPS). MSEPS recently was recognized by the American Academy of Ophthalmology at its 2004 Annual Meeting in New Orleans. MSEPS President Jean Ramsey, MD, accepted the AAO Star Award 2004 on behalf of the Society for its public education work on Shaken Baby Syndrome at the AAO Presidents’ Breakfast. MSEPS was the only state society cited in this category. (Source: MSEPS website.)  DA/DSS Roundtable | 6 Tragedies | | Return Home | About SBS | About the Campaign | What's New? | Great Links | |
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