THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	10
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

Requesting the board of professional engineers, architects, surveyors and landscape architects to promote awareness of family caregiving needs in the design of new residences.

     WHEREAS, family caregiving has always been a universal experience of all ethnicities, lifestyles, and income levels; and

     WHEREAS, due to a shortage of care providers in Hawaii, family caregiving has become a critical element of our health and long-term care system; and

     WHEREAS, the need for personal care assistance due to physical, sensory, cognitive, and self-care disabilities increases with age; and

     WHEREAS, by 2020, more than one in four individuals is expected to be sixty years of age or older; and

     WHEREAS, as Hawaii's population ages, many more families will be providing higher levels of long-term care to frail and disabled older adults at home; and

     WHEREAS, the design of a residence can enhance or impede the independence and mobility of its occupants as they age; and

     WHEREAS, the design of a residence can also enhance or impede a family caregiver's capacity to provide assistance to frail and disabled older adults at home; and

     WHEREAS, the National Academy of Science has recommended that professional training in architecture include information on the range of capabilities and limitations of the aging population so that these factors can be incorporated into designs; and

     WHEREAS, certain physical attributes of housing can support therapeutic activities and aging-in-place, such as the basic partitioning of the building; and

     WHEREAS, the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects should promote awareness of family caregiving needs in the design of new residences; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects is requested to promote awareness of family caregiving needs in the design of new residences; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Professional Engineers, Architects, Surveyors and Landscape Architects; and the Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, School of Architecture.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Family Caregiving; Design of New Residences