Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2006

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor & Public Employment, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 16 entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to safeguard the health of working nurses in Hawaii to ensure that they may continue to care for patients in the State.

Specifically, this measure supports the policies contained in the American Nurses Association's Handle With Care campaign, which seeks to build a health care industry-wide effort to prevent back and other musculoskeletal injuries by developing partnerships and coalitions, education and training, increasing use of assistive equipment and patient-handling devices, reshaping nursing education to incorporate safe patient handling, and pursuing federal and state ergonomics policy by highlighting technology-oriented safe-patient handling benefits for patients and nurses.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Nurses' Association and six individuals.

Your Committee believes that this measure will help to address and control workplace ergonomic hazards and prevent back and musculoskeletal injuries among working nurses in Hawaii.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor & Public Employment that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 16 and recommends its adoption.