By Bob Katzen

The Public Health Committee held a hearing on legislation that would establish a special legislative commission on perimenopause and menopause care.

Provisions include directing the Department of Public Health to develop a multi-lingual educational public health awareness campaign on perimenopause and menopause; requiring select health care providers to take a continuing medical education course focused on the diagnosis, treatment and care of patients with perimenopause and menopause; and adding reproductive health, including perimenopause, menopause or related conditions from the list of legally protected characteristics that employers cannot discriminate against and for which they must provide reasonable workplace accommodations.

“When medical schools devote just one to six hours on menopause, despite the fact that women spend nearly a third of their lives navigating it, it’s clear why this bill is necessary,” said sponsor Rep. Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge). “There are currently no consistent standards for access to care, leaving too many doctors and patients uninformed and unprepared to address perimenopause and menopause. Women deserve care that treats the symptoms of menopause, not an expectation that they simply endure them.”

ORGAN TRANSPLANT VEHICLES (H 4796) – Another proposal before the Public Health Committee would designate organ transplant vehicles as emergency vehicles when they are transporting human organs or medical personnel for the purpose of organ recovery or transplantation. Being designated as an emergency vehicle would enable organ transplant vehicles to exceed the applicable speed limit and to drive through intersections contrary to posted traffic signs or signals.

“The reason why I filed the bill is because one of my constituents who is a firefighter but also a driver for an organ transport company, asked me to do so on his behalf,” said sponsor Rep. Paul Donato (D-Medford). “The purpose of the bill is … that if they are transporting an organ from Logan Airport to Mass General Brigham or from Mass General Brigham to a hospital in Worcester, sometimes getting stuck in traffic on Storrow Drive or on the Turnpike can have a detrimental effect on the organ.”