Legislation introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., would help to improve care for babies born with a syndrome caused by exposure to opioids during pregnancy. The important measure is the latest legislation introduced by Jenkins dealing with the neonatal abstinence syndrome crisis.

Jenkins started working on the NAS crisis about five years ago. In the last few years it has impacted more than 1,000 babies in West Virginia, according to the West Virginia lawmaker.

“Two nurses who were caring for drug-exposed babies that were suffering through withdrawal after birth contacted me about help in getting a facility in Huntington to take care of these babies,” Jenkins told the Daily Telegraph last week. “The hospital (in Huntington) was doing a good job, but there was a model of a facility that had been developed that focused on NAS babies.”

In working with other people and agencies, Lily’s Place in Huntington was ultimately established. Jenkins said the facility opened just over a year ago and has already provided special care to 100 newborn babies that were drug-exposed during pregnancy.

Jenkins argues that such special care is crucial, considering that from 5 to 20 percent of all newborns in West Virginia now have NAS because of the opioid abuse epidemic. It’s also a growing problem across the country.

“This (syndrome) is a crisis,” Jenkins said. “It breaks your heart that a newborn infant has to suffer the ravages of withdrawal during their first days and weeks of life. So we are trying to make sure they get the best possible care to get them through.”

The NAS (Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome) Healthy Babies Act was introduced by Jenkins and U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill. The bill is also cosponsored by U.S. Reps. Ann Kuster, D-N.H., Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, Hal Rogers R-Ky., Ann Wagner, R-Mo. and Steve Womack, R-Ark.

Jenkins has already introduced several bills dealing with the NAS crisis, including most recently the bipartisan Cradle Act. That legislation seeks to establish clear guidelines for residential pediatric care centers to treat babies with NAS. The latest measure, the NAS Healthy Babies Act, would initiate work to find the best models of care for these infants as well as identifying any federal obstacles to providing care for NAS babies, expanding knowledge of that care, including the prevalence of NAS in the United States, and assessing the number of NAS babies covered by Medicaid, the settings for that care and access to the care under state Medicaid programs.

The measure is important and merits full congressional support. Thankfully, a companion bill has already been introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.. In the U.S. Senate, the legislation is being called the Nurturing and Supporting Healthy Babies Act.

With hope both measures will soon be passed by both the House and Senate.

All reasonable efforts must be made — on both the federal, state and local level — to combat this deadly prescription drug abuse epidemic.