Northeast Georgia Medical Center, along with all other Georgia hospitals, may be required to test newborn babies for congenital heart defects.A Covington mother, Jessica Hatcher, whose son was born with a congenital defect requiring a heart transplant, has pushed legislators to mandate pulse oximetry screenings for all newborns.The screening measures blood oxygen levels and heart rates through a small device placed on the finger and toe of a baby. It takes less than one minute and is painless.Republican Rep. Andy Welch of McDonough introduced a bill calling for the Georgia Department of Health to study whether or not the test should be a standard. The study will look at the benefits of testing, potential costs and implementation.Depending on the study, lawmakers could make the screen mandatory.But the medical center has already been looking into making the test common practice.“We’ve been actually investigating that over the past year,” said Sara Dyer, director of Women’s and Children’s Services for the medical center.