HR223

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has the responsibility of protecting and serving its communities by providing appropriate medical services during an emergency in a timely manner; and

WHEREAS, the significance of this responsibility has been demonstrated repeatedly during Hawaii's hurricane seasons, earthquakes, flash floods, tsunamis, sudden horrific tragedies such as the Sacred Falls landslide, the collision and sinking of the Ehime Maru sea vessel, and evacuations of schools due to hazardous materials conditions; and

WHEREAS, a mobile emergency department and hospital, known as a MED-1 unit, can respond to crisis situations and provide instant on-site medical attention ranging from emergency medical care, surgical trauma, critical care, and anesthesia; and

WHEREAS, a MED-1 unit can serve as a "surge hospital," designed to respond to surges in numbers of patients during emergencies, or as a stand-alone quarantine facility capable of providing 14 general medical beds and expandable to accommodate as many as several hundred patients when a tenting system is in place; and

WHEREAS, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, more than 7,000 patients were served by a MED-1 unit set up in a parking lot in Waveland, Mississippi, for seven weeks when the existing local health care infrastructure was destroyed; and

WHEREAS, a MED-1 unit served as a major trauma center and emergency room in New Orleans during the 2006 Mardi Gras when the existing medical infrastructures were in bad repair; and

WHEREAS, a MED-1 unit can also serve as a quarantine facility in the event of a hazardous materials attack, pandemic, avian flu outbreak, or any disaster-related outbreak requiring quarantine; and

WHEREAS, in addition to serving as a medical resource during emergencies and disasters, a MED-1 unit can also provide primary care and necessary healthcare infrastructure to communities lacking medical resources in parts of the islands where needs have already been identified, including Kahuku, Puna, and other areas; and

WHEREAS, as a mobile emergency department and hospital on wheels, a MED-1 unit can be transported to various sites and may also be airlifted between islands via military transport airplanes; and

WHEREAS, a MED-1 unit provides a mobile support trailer stocked with essential medical supplies and equipment, as well as living and sleeping quarters for a team of healthcare providers that can travel with the unit; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's isolation as a chain of islands requires sufficient and immediate emergency medical response from within the state until support from the mainland or elsewhere arrives; and

WHEREAS, a MED-1 unit would afford the people of Hawaii immediate access to medical resources during a natural or man-made disaster; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Civil Defense Division of the Department of Defense (Civil Defense), in cooperation with the Department of Health (DOH), is requested to begin necessary preparations to establish a mobile emergency hospital MED-1 unit in Hawaii as a shared resource between Civil Defense and DOH, based on the known need for a comprehensive natural and man-made disaster response plan; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Civil Defense, and Director of Health.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Mobile Emergency Hospital Unit Preparations

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	223
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII