{"id":148335,"date":"2026-03-24T20:55:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148335"},"modified":"2026-03-24T20:55:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T00:55:40","slug":"lehigh-valley-democrat-and-republican-team-up-to-make-health-care-setting-safer-boscola-coleman-bill-to-outlaw-harmful-toxins-in-iv-bags-passes-senate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=148335","title":{"rendered":"Lehigh Valley Democrat and Republican Team Up to Make Health Care Setting Safer: Boscola\/Coleman Bill to Outlaw Harmful Toxins in IV Bags Passes Senate"},"content":{"rendered":"

HARRISBURG, PA \u2013 March 24, 2026 \u2013 <\/strong>The Pennsylvania State Senate today passed legislation authored by Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton) and Senator Jarrett Coleman (R-Lehigh) that would phase out, and ultimately ban, a toxic chemical additive found in most intravenous (IV) bags and other medical devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go to the doctor to get better, not get sicker,\u201d Boscola said. \u201cStudy after study have shown the toxicity of these additives \u2013 so I was shocked to learn how common they are in medical settings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) is a common additive in the production of plastic medical devices meant to increase flexibility and reduce brittleness. However, researchers have found that DEHP leaches into the contents of these medical devices. Senate Bill 804 sets a timeline to phase out DEHP in medical devices in Pennsylvania by 2035. Additionally, the bill prohibits the use of other toxic chemicals, known as ortho-phthalates, as replacements for DEHP.<\/p>\n

\u201cSB 804 puts patient health at the center of our healthcare system, where it belongs,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cNo one receiving treatment, whether a newborn in intensive care or a patient fighting cancer, should be exposed to a chemical linked to serious health problems through the very IV equipment delivering their care. With safer alternatives already in use across many hospitals, this legislation ensures that every patient in Pennsylvania has access to the safest possible materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healthcare systems across Pennsylvania are already using DEHP-free devices, including St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network in the Lehigh Valley, demonstrating that this transition is both realistic and already underway.<\/p>\n

\u201cSt. Luke\u2019s does not use IV solution containers that contain PVC or DEHP and we support Senator Lisa Boscola and Senator Coleman\u2019s efforts to make sure all patients across the Commonwealth are similarly protected from these harmful forever chemicals,\u201d said Dr. Jeffrey Jahre, Senior Vice President Medical and Academic Affairs, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network.<\/p>\n

If enacted, Senate Bill 804 would make Pennsylvania one of the first states in the nation to ban DEHP. California and North Carolina each passed similar legislation in recent legislative sessions. Noting Bethlehem\u2019s connection to this issue, Boscola added, \u201cI\u2019m proud that Bethlehem is home to one of only two nationwide distributors of DEHP-free IV bags.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPassage of SB 804 by the Pennsylvania Senate is a big step forward for patient safety. We applaud Senator Boscola and Senator Coleman for their leadership on this issue and appreciate all the senators who supported this important legislation. DEHP should have no place in IV bags and tubing used in Pennsylvania,\u201d said Dr. Stephanie Pitts, Vice President, Healthcare Strategy and Innovation, B. Braun.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 804 passed the Senate 48:1 and will now be considered by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

Information provided to TVL by:
\nKurt Derr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HARRISBURG, PA \u2013 March 24, 2026 \u2013 The Pennsylvania State Senate today passed legislation authored by Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Northampton) and Senator Jarrett Coleman (R-Lehigh) that would phase out, and … Continue reading Lehigh Valley Democrat and Republican Team Up to Make Health Care Setting Safer: Boscola\/Coleman Bill to Outlaw Harmful Toxins in IV Bags Passes Senate<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[69,482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-148335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-in-the-valley","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IV-bags.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=148335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148335\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/129073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=148335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=148335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=148335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}