Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Human Services and Higher Education, to which was referred S.B. No. 244, S.D. 1, entitled:

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish within the Kapiolani Community College a long-term care resource program initiative.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from Kapiolani Community College (KCC), Department of Health, Health Care Association of Hawaii, Hawaii Alliance for Retired Americans, Kokua Council, the Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs, and two individuals.

The long-term care resources program would expand the quality and quantity of home- and community-based long-term care workers, improve the support and training of family caregivers, and promote active aging. The program would serve as a model for other community colleges in the University of Hawaii (UH) system.

Hawaii is at the cusp of significant demographic changes over the next decade. Currently, Hawaii's population of individuals over sixty-five years of age is increasing at a rate two to three times the national average. The number of nursing home beds available is not even fifty per cent of the national average, and Hawaii's home- and community-based infrastructure does not adequately meet Hawaii's chronic care management needs. The infrastructure must be expanded to accommodate a broader range of home- and community-based, long-term care options for the rapidly growing elderly population.

KCC is viewed as the flagship community college for nursing, long-term care, allied healthcare and education. KCC's core healthcare curricula focuses on the expansion of the paraprofessional healthcare workforce. KCC is well positioned to play a role in strengthening the State's capacity to provide affordable home- and community-based long-term care for its residents.

In August 2003, KCC held a meeting with all of the community colleges and their respective community agencies to review and discuss the present and future role of the state colleges. Community colleges are well-dispersed throughout the State and possess the capacity to provide the training for the long-term care workforce across the healthcare spectrum.

A critical element for the expansion of home- and community-based long-term care options is the development of an adequate long-term care workforce. Three components associated with a workforce development strategy that places an emphasis on expanding affordable care options for the elderly are: (1) the paraprofessional worker; (2) family caregivers; and (3) active aging of the elderly.

Your Committees find that helping the elderly stay in their homes as they age reduces admission to costly institutional or residential long-term care facilities. Your Committees further find that there are approximately three hundred vacant positions and thus there is no need for two additional full-time equivalent positions as set forth in the measure.

KCC is committed to collaborating with other colleges in the University system to enable a statewide approach to address the aging and long-term care issues. KCC, with input from caregiver coalition groups, has collaborated with the Executive Office on Aging to ensure that key information and elements have been incorporated into this measure. This measure reflects KCC's plans to build an effective program targeting Hawaii's aging and long-term care needs with its educational resources and expertise.

Your Committees have amended this measure by deleting the two full time equivalent positions.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Higher Education that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 244, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommend that it be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 244, S.D. 2.