Senate Bill 5,244 would exempt WIC clinic staff from medical-assistant registration for the limited purpose of performing hemoglobin tests via heel, toe or finger sticks, the House Health Care & Wellness Committee heard March 14.

Supporters told the committee the change is a technical fix requested by the Department of Health that would remove a workforce barrier that currently forces many WIC participants to seek outside appointments or miss screening entirely.

Emily Poole, committee staff, outlined the current federal WIC program requirements and described the bill’s narrow scope: ‘‘Senate bill 5,244 provides an exemption from requirements regarding medical assistance for a person working at a WIC program clinic who administers tests and evaluations, provided that those tests and evaluations are limited to hemoglobin tests via heel stick, toe stick, or finger stick sampling,’’ Poole said. State Department of Health Director for Nutrition Services Britney Taibo told the committee the change would bring Washington into alignment with federal program practice and with nearly every other state.

Taibo said the exemption would remove ‘‘a significant burden for our agencies’’ and restore clinic-based screening access that the department estimates is unavailable to roughly 45,000 people statewide under current interpretation of the registration rule. Jamie Bodden of the State Association of Local Public Health Officials said allowing clinic staff to add this ‘‘very simple skill set’’ would reduce multiple appointments for families and improve client-centered care.

Public-health witnesses who use capillary sampling in practice described the tests as fast, safe and actionable. Lindsay Erian, a registered dietitian with Public Health — Seattle & King County, said she used capillary screens for years in WIC and provided nutrition plans and referrals immediately after screening. Nutrition First Executive Director and public-health dietitian Nicole Fladeboe told the committee that early screening can reduce long-term impacts of iron deficiency anemia, particularly for infants and pregnant people.

The committee did not take action on the bill at the hearing and closed public testimony after in-person and remote panels. Staff and bill proponents described the change as narrowly tailored to capillary hemoglobin testing performed inside WIC clinics and not a broader expansion of clinical authority.

The bill’s proponents recommended the language as a technical fix to reduce administrative barriers and maintain access to nutrition screening for low-income and underserved families.