STAND. COM. REP. NO.384
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2003
RE: S.B. No. 501
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. 501 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FOR MAUI,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to make an appropriation for emergency ambulance services for Kula and Kihei, Maui.
Testimony supporting this measure and identical measures was received from the Department of Health, the Mayor of Maui County, a member of the Maui County Council, the American Heart Association, ILWU Local 142, Maui County paramedics, and residents and businesses from Kula, Maui, and South Maui, which includes the Kihei and Wailea communities.
Your Committee finds that Kula and South Maui do not receive adequate emergency services. The upcountry Kula community is serviced by an ambulance station for only 12 hours, and the densely populated resort area of South Maui, the fastest growing region in the State, has more calls than the current station can adequately cover. Often, emergency calls for these areas must be answered by units assigned to other areas, leaving those areas without coverage. As a result, Kula and South Maui experience unacceptably long and potentially life-threatening delays in response times. This situation is exacerbated by patient transport time to the island’s only acute care facility, Maui Memorial Medical Center. The State Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board has named Wailea (South Maui) as the first priority for increased services within the County of Maui.
One of the core functions of state government is to secure the public health and welfare. Your Committee recognizes the existing threat to the health and welfare of residents and visitors of Kula and the South Maui communities of Kihei, Wailea, and Makena and believes that the appropriation provided by this measure is necessary to alleviate this threat.
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. 501 and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,
____________________________ ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair |
||