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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State-Mandated Newborn Screenings Saving Babies' Lives

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Monday, February 16, 2015   

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Failing a test has turned out to be a lifesaver for some Michigan babies, whose doctors were able to detect heart defects thanks to new state-required screenings.

The test, which takes just two minutes and costs less than $10, is called pulse oximetry screening, and checks the oxygen level in the baby's blood.

Cardiologist Dr. Ron Grifka of Mott Children's Hospital says the test can detect potentially fatal heart defects which otherwise may not cause any symptoms before a baby is discharged.

"If they slip through the first day or two in the hospital and go home, the children can be at home and can become very, very ill, and then it can become emergency medical care."

The state mandated the pulse-ox test, as it is known, for all newborns last April, and since then, five babies who failed the test, including one at Mott, have had lifesaving surgery to treat congenital heart defects.

Grifka says given the size of the state, and the number of babies born in birthing centers or other alternative locations, the test can be both a lifesaver and a money saver.

"It very well could be an ambulance or even a helicopter or an airplane ride being transferred to the children's hospital in a very critical condition," says Grifka. "By picking up these heart defects early, we can really not just help the child but also decrease the cost of their care, too."

This year marks the 50th anniversary of newborn screening in Michigan, which began with one test and now covers 55 different disorders that require early treatment to prevent illness, disability or death.


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