Authorizes issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriates funds for the planning, development, and construction of a medical facility in West Maui to provide urgent care, emergency room, and long-term care services.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The area from Lahaina to Kapalua has a resident population of 17,967, approximately 22,460 daily visitors, and over five thousand workers. Due to its geographic isolation, there is a limited availability of health care services, including acute, urgent, emergency and long–term care to accommodate the population. Further, the area lacks the availability of specialists, diagnostic imaging, physical medicine, and the other support services that centralization of health care services provides. Residents must commute to Wailuku or Oahu for many specialty services.

Eighteen physicians with established offices in West Maui currently deliver primary care to its residents. However, patients in need of acute or after-hours health care services must be transferred by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center in Wailuku. Emergent medical services should be used for true emergencies and not to supplement the need for acute and after-hours health care in West Maui.

In addition, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation completed a demand analysis and site selection study to determine the appropriate location for long-term care bed expansion in Maui, and the study concluded that the appropriate location is in West Maui. Hawaii Health Systems Corporation has also discussed the development and provision of overall health care services in West Maui with numerous community groups. In this regard, several potential sites in West Maui are currently being considered, including a donation of up to fifteen acres of land by Maui Land & Pineapple Company to Maui Memorial Medical Center, or its designee, for health care services in Maui. It is important to secure the site and begin the planning, development, and construction of a medical facility that will ultimately provide a continuum of health care services in West Maui.

A needs assessment will be completed to determine the exact profile of the facility; however, it is expected that in the initial phase, the project will provide long-term care, as well as expanded urgent and emergent care services. (Emergent care is defined as a "step-up" from acute care and is generally not considered life threatening.) The facility will be planned to increase service levels to meet the expanding needs of the growing West Maui community. These services will include full emergency care, urgent care, acute care and long-term care, with approximately thirty skilled nursing beds. The emergency room will host a helicopter pad for medical transport for more critical cases.

The legislature finds that there is a need for such a continuum of care health services in West Maui. The legislature further finds that patients should not have to resort to a forty-five minute ambulance ride to receive after-hours urgent or emergent healthcare services.

The purpose of this Act is to authorize the issuance of general obligation bonds and appropriate funds for the planning, development, and construction of a medical facility in West Maui, to provide expanded urgent care, emergent/emergency care, and long-term care services.

SECTION 2. The director of finance is authorized to issue general obligation bonds in the sum of $          , or so much thereof as may be necessary, and the same sum, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for fiscal year 2005-2006, for the planning, development, and construction of a medical facility in West Maui to provide urgent care, emergency care and long-term care services, and a helipad for emergency transport.

SECTION 3. The appropriation made for the capital improvement project authorized by this Act shall not lapse at the end of the fiscal biennium for which the appropriation is made; provided that all moneys from the appropriation unencumbered as of June 30, 2008, shall lapse as of that date.

SECTION 4. The sums appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii health systems corporation for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2005.