Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 963 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to enable the Department of Health to operate a hospital-based poison center twenty-four hours a day.

Testimony supporting this measure was received from the Hawaii Poison Center, Kapiolani Medical Center, HMSA, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente, and three individuals. The Department of Health provided qualified support for the measure based on budgetary constraints.

Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Poison Center (HPC) has saved countless lives by providing early management of poisoning cases, thus obviating the necessity of an emergency services visit or response. As a result of the HPC's services, there has not been a death of a single child under six years of age from accidental poisoning since 1988. This is an astounding statistic considering that this valuable public service has been privately funded and administered for many decades. Unfortunately, economic realities of the private sector now threaten to curtail the services provided by the HPC.

Your Committee finds that the HPC provides an indispensable public service and the appropriation provided by this measure ensures that Hawaii's men, women, and children will have access to its proven resources for poison-related emergencies.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 963 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.