Last week, Virginia became the latest state to pass critical congenital heart defect (CCHD) screening legislation when Governor Terry McAuliffe signed H.B. 387 into law. The bill requires all hospitals in Virginia that have a newborn nursery to perform a CCHD screening test on every newborn in its care when the child is at least 24 hours old but no more than 48 hours old. The bill also directs the Board of Health to convene a workgroup of all stakeholders, including the Virginia Chapter of the ACC, to provide information and recommendations for the development of regulations to implement the act within 280 days of enactment. Passing CCHD screening legislation is one of the College’s state advocacy priorities and the ACC is continually working with local ACC Chapters and the ACC’s Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology Section on advancing legislation. This news was a huge win for CHD advocates who gathered yesterday on Capitol Hill, just days after the legislation passed, to educate members of Congress about CHD as part of Congenital Heart Advocacy Day 2014.

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