SR 346

                                                 PRINTER'S NO.   1844
             THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
     SENATE RESOLUTION
        No. 346
                                           Session of
                                             2026
INTRODUCED BY FONTANA, BROOKS, MARTIN, PISCIOTTANO, HAYWOOD,
   HUGHES, CULVER, SCHWANK, CAPPELLETTI, COSTA AND VOGEL,
   JUNE 25, 2026
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, JUNE 25, 2026
                          A RESOLUTION
1 Honoring the 10th anniversary of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk
2    Bank located in Allegheny County.
3    WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank was established
4 in January 2016 as a regional milk bank accredited by the Human
5 Milk Banking Association of North America to process and deliver
6 ethically sourced pasteurized donor human milk to medically
7 compromised infants across this Commonwealth when their mother's
8 own milk is unavailable or cannot meet all of their needs; and
9    WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank was licensed by
10 the Department of Health under Act 7 of 2020, known as the
11 Keystone Mothers' Milk Bank Act, which regulates milk bank
12 operations within this Commonwealth; and
13    WHEREAS, A mother's own milk is the optimal nutrition for
14 newborn infants and is a public health goal for the delivery of
15 nutrition to all infants; and
16    WHEREAS, When a mother's own milk is not available, medically
17 vulnerable infants, including those born prematurely, with low
1 birth weights or with congenital or acquired conditions, derive
2 significant health benefits and avoid devastating health
3 complications by receiving human milk; and
4WHEREAS, Small amounts of donor milk for necessary
5 supplementation outside of the neonatal intensive unit (NICU)
6 care setting support the development of a healthy microbiome in
7 newborns and provide strong maternal breastfeeding support; and
8WHEREAS, Volunteer milk donors are carefully medically
9 screened to ensure that they are healthy and able to donate; and
10WHEREAS, Banked donor milk is predominantly pasteurized to
11 inactivate pathogens, tested for chemicals or substances that
12 could be injurious to high-risk infants and frozen for storage
13 and shipping to NICUs and to seriously ill outpatient infants;
14 and
15WHEREAS, The work of the Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank,
16 through its Statewide distribution of pasteurized donor milk,
17 yields decreased mortality rates, shortened hospital stays and
18 reduced rates of devastating complications in the NICU setting,
19 while also providing essential nutrition for outpatient infants
20 with debilitating health conditions; and
21WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank advocated for
22 the passage of Act 32 of 2023, which is known as Owen's Law,
23 providing access to donor milk for medically compromised
24 inpatient and outpatient infants on Medical Assistance; and
25WHEREAS, The milk bank's dedicated team of employees
26 processes and distributes nearly 40,000 ounces of donor milk a
27 month to more than 82 hospital units and dozens of outpatients,
28 a 700% increase in production since the milk bank opened in
29 2016; and
30WHEREAS, The expanded and growing utilization of donor milk
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1 has necessitated the need for a larger, upgraded facility by the
2 Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank, which is located in Bellevue
3 Borough; and
4WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank has fostered
5 cost-effective and reliable manufacturing and operational
6 techniques that have resulted in bringing the manufacture of
7 machinery and equipment needed by milk banks across the country
8 and in Canada to companies located in southwestern Pennsylvania;
9 and
10WHEREAS, The Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank has promoted
11 life sciences and research innovation through its independent
12 nonprofit Human Milk Science Institute and Biobank, which
13 addresses the challenges researchers face in accessing human
14 milk samples by providing academic, industry and government
15 scientists with de-identified milk samples and data, while also
16 supporting in-house research; therefore be it
17RESOLVED, That the Senate honor the 10th anniversary of the
18 Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank located in Allegheny County; and
19 be it further
20RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize that the Mid-Atlantic
21 Mothers' Milk Bank serves as critical infrastructure vital to
22 meeting the essential medical and nutritional needs of infants
23 throughout this Commonwealth.
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