Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2001

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health and Human Services, to which was referred S.B. No. 922 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure, as received, is to require the Department of Health (DOH) to integrate emergency aeromedical services into statewide emergency medical services, and to establish an emergency aeromedical information system and quality improvement committee.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by members of the Maui County Council. DOH supported the intent of the measure, however believed it to be unnecessary. Air Ambulance Hawaii supports the intent but opposed the measure as drafted and suggested amendments.

Your Committee finds that the current draft of this measure is unnecessary. The Governor, in a veto message of a similar 1999 measure, H.B. No. 895, H.D. 2, S.D. 2, C.D. 1, stated that the intent of the measure could be handled administratively by DOH. Furthermore, your Committee finds that DOH has established an active aeromedical medical quality assurance committee, and has created a data system following the inter-island aeromedical transfer of emergency and critical patients. Thus, your Committee has amended this measure to address the critical problem of lack of emergency helicopter service between the neighbor islands by making an appropriation for an intra-county helicopter aeromedical service.

Your Committee has amended this measure by replacing its contents with an appropriations measure to fund the intra-county helicopter aeromedical service for the County of Maui.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health and Human Services that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 922, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 922, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.