West Virginia House Bill 4853 requires hospitals to establish trauma-informed care protocols and the Butterfly Protocol for miscarriage patients

Original title: Relating to hospitals establishing protocols for providing trauma informed care to patients

Last action · January 29, 2026: Markup DiscussionSponsors: Evan Worrell and 4 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

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What This Bill Proposed

West Virginia hospitals are required to develop protocols and staff training for patients experiencing traumatic events like miscarriages, abuse, or neglect, including the creation of a specialized with a discreet visual chart symbol for miscarriage patients.

Why it matters

Hospitals must update their internal training, patient resource lists, and medical charting systems to incorporate staff education on trauma and a specific visual identifier for patients who have suffered a miscarriage.

Who It Would Have Affected

Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

Hospitals

Hospitals must develop and implement new trauma-informed care protocols, staff training programs, patient resource compilations, and the Butterfly Protocol charting system.

Directly affected

Patients experiencing a miscarriage, abuse, or neglect

Patients receive specialized trauma-informed care, grief recovery resources, crisis hotline details, and discreet chart symbols alerting hospital staff to their experience.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Butterfly Protocol?

The is a required hospital procedure for patients who have experienced a miscarriage, which involves placing a discreet visual symbol on the patient's chart or electronic medical record and training staff on how to provide .

What resources must hospitals provide to patients under the trauma-informed care protocol?

Hospitals must compile and provide contact info for mental health services, guidance on grief and recovery, crisis support hotlines, and information on peer or community support groups.

What else do you want to know?

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.

Procedural history

5 actions

Jan 29, 2026House
Markup Discussion
Jan 28, 2026HouseCommittee
To House Health and Human Resources
Jan 28, 2026HouseIntroduced
Introduced in House
Jan 28, 2026HouseCommittee
To Health and Human Resources
Jan 28, 2026HouseIntroduced
Filed for introduction

Version history

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