Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2003

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 97 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to appropriate funds to provide emergency advanced life support ambulance service to the residents of Ocean View Estates on the island of Hawaii.

The Department of Health (DOH), Ocean View Community Association, Inc., Hilo Medical Center, Kau Hospital, two Hawaii County Council members, and many concerned citizens submitted testimony in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that rural areas such as Ocean View Estates often have difficulty in obtaining timely ambulance service. Additionally, Ocean View is a fast-growing community, with no medical services in the immediate vicinity. DOH reported an average ambulance response time of almost 19 minutes in 2000.

Your Committee has amended this bill by:

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 H.B. No. 97, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 97, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.