STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1515

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 1999

                                   RE:  H.B. No. 895
                                        H.D. 2
                                        S.D. 2




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred H.B.
No. 895, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to allow the Department of
Health to provide emergency aeromedical services as part of its
required emergency medical services.

     This bill:

     (1)  Defines "emergency aeromedical services";

     (2)  Requires the Department of Health to support the
          interagency dispatch policy and procedures for
          aeromedical transports;

     (3)  Requires the Department of Health to establish and
          maintain an emergency aeromedical medical services
          information system to serve the emergency health needs
          of the State;

     (4)  Specifies the elements to be included in the emergency
          aeromedical medical services information system; and


 
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     (5)  Requires the Department of Health to establish an
          emergency aeromedical services quality improvement
          advisory committee and specifies membership of that
          committee.

     This measure is intended predominantly to serve the neighbor
island communities which need emergency aeromedical services.
Your Committee believes that the target populations should not be
placed at risk of unnecessary death or disability due to system
delays or unavailable aeromedical services.  Your Committee finds
that the State must provide for an emergency aeromedical system
that assures the timely transport of seriously ill and injured
persons to designated medical facilities.

     The bill defines "emergency aeromedical services" to include
"fixed-wing or rotary-wing" aircraft in section 321-222, Hawaii
Revised Statutes, on page 1, line 6.  However, throughout the
rest of the bill, only the term "fixed-wing aircraft" is used
while the term "rotary-wing" aircraft does not appear.  Your
Committee finds that provision should be made for both types of
aircraft.

     For purposes of clarification, your Committee has therefore
amended this bill by deleting the term "fixed-wing" in:


     (1)  Section 321-230(b)(1)(B) and (E), Hawaii Revised
          Statutes, on page 5, lines 9 and 15; and

     (2)  Section 321-230(c)(5), Hawaii Revised Statutes, on page
          6, line 9;

while leaving intact the definition of "emergency aeromedical
aircraft" to include both "fixed-wing" and "rotary-wing"
aircraft.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your
Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No.
895, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it
pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 895,
H.D. 2, S.D. 2.


 
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                                 Respectfully submitted on behalf
                                 of the members of the Committee
                                 on Ways and Means,



                                 ________________________________
                                 CAROL FUKUNAGA, Co-Chair



                                 ________________________________
                                 ANDREW LEVIN, Co-Chair

 
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