Saturday, May 20, 2006

Romney ousts 3 at health council (The Boston Globe)

Gone are backers of a ban on infant formula giveaways

Governor Mitt Romney completed a major overhaul of the state's Public Health Council yesterday, abruptly ousting members who championed a ban on giving away infant formula at hospital maternity wards.

Romney has said that he believes that mothers should continue to receive gift bags of infant formula if they want them, and he asked the council in February to reverse its earlier approval of a ban.

The panel, which establishes public health policy in Massachusetts, did reverse the ban, but at the same time ordered administrators at the Department of Public Health to spend three months reviewing the issue. The administrators are scheduled to report their findings Tuesday.

In an interview last night, one of the council members replaced by Romney said she would have liked to have remained on the panel.

''I think the changes were political," said Phyllis Cudmore, who used to work in the healthcare industry. ''I'm disappointed not to be part of the process now."



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