Please copy
the letter below or write your own letter to help create a new standard of care
for newborn screenings. Please send your letter to all three of the addresses
below. Thank you for helping early detection of congenital heart defects.
Together we WILL make a difference.
To Whom It May Concern:
As a parent of a child with a congenital heart defect I am constantly looking
for new ways to help families not go through the same things that our family has
gone through. Congenital heart disease treatments have a relatively brief
history, but critical advances are being made at an amazing rate. An important
issue yet to be addressed, though, is the creation of a standard of care in
newborn screening for congenital heart disease. One such test that has been tied
to the presence of congenital heart disease is the pulse oximetry screening. As
in hearing screening (the first public health-sponsored screening of newborns to
not use the Guthrie specimen), the procedure is noninvasive, simple to execute,
easy to interpret, and can be performed during the nursery stay. In the last few
years there have been research projects and publications showing the need for
pulse oximetry testing to be a part of the newborn screening panel. I urge you
to take a look at the research that has been done as well as research projects
that are currently being done and make pulse oximetry testing a part of the
newborn screening panel today. Feel free to contact me anytime to discuss this
matter.
