SCR33 HD1

WHEREAS, the definition of long term care includes a broad range of health and support services required by individuals with disabilities, or those who are aging, or become disabled; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii's life expectancy rate is the highest in the nation, the percentage of individuals sixty-five years and older is increasing at 2.5 times the national average, and seventy per cent of these individuals over the age of sixty-five require long term care services; and

WHEREAS, the ratio of nursing home beds to the elder population in Hawaii is significantly lower than the national rate and the level of disability of our nursing home residents is substantially higher than the national average; and

WHEREAS, there is a natural tendency to avoid planning for long term needs until faced with the immediacy of providing or obtaining such care and services either for oneself or for a loved one; and

WHEREAS, advanced planning provides individuals with better alternatives and knowledge about the range of available private and governmental services, the cost of care, payment options, and choice and control over where and how these services are to be received; and

WHEREAS, a coordinated policy structure and system of long term care is needed to address the growing need for services in the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to shift the emphasis of long term care to that of long term living which prioritizes home and community-based care, and a strengthened work force and infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of this Concurrent Resolution is to encourage the Long Term Living Initiative work groups to continue their work in the areas of expanding infrastructure and projected long term care, work force development, and long term care financing, as well as begin a new focus on engaging the county governments as partners in planning an integrated and coordinated policy with the State of Hawaii; now, therefore;

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Departments of Health and Human Services, together with the Executive Office on Aging and the State Health Planning and Development Agency, shall continue their work on the Long Term Living Initiative to expand long term care infrastructure, workforce development, and financing mechanisms, as well as begin a new focus on engaging county government as partners in planning an integrated and coordinated policy with the State of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Departments of Health and Human Services, together with the Executive Office on Aging and the State Health Planning and Development Agency, shall focus the work of the Long Term Living Initiative on the following areas:

(1) Infrastructure and projected long term care needs, which shall include ongoing review of the regulations and funding mechanisms for long term care, and continue to monitor trends in areas including demographics, disability status, changing family dynamics, and availability and cost of long term care with an emphasis on increasing the availability of home and community-based care and "specialty units" in nursing facilities that can address the unique needs of challenging patients;

(2) Workforce development, which shall increase the number of qualified caregivers, particularly certified nurse assistants (CNAs) who are the front line providers in long term care, increase support for family caregivers who play a critical role in allowing many family members to remain at home, and increase training and access to information on available services, including respite care;

(3) Financing and long term care, which shall examine the cost of long term care services and how they can be made more affordable, encourage families to plan for their future to ensure dignity and choice in available services, pursue the federal "Own Your Future" campaign, and support the provision of incentives to encourage responsible planning; and

(4) County connections, which shall convene discussions with stakeholders including consumers, providers, and regulators at the county level to learn the best practice and educational information that has been generated by the Long Term Living Initiative, to study the unique issues of long term living that are present in each county, to encourage grass roots awareness about the upcoming long term care crisis that faces citizens of each island, to be a source of grassroots input into the State-wide Long Term Living Initiative, and to act as a sounding board for the ideas of the other State-wide Long Term Living Initiative areas of focus such as the work of the Joint Legislative Committee on Family Caregiving and the Kupuna Caucus; and

(5) A public process shall be developed and implemented in order to achieve the above objectives; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of the Executive Office on Aging, the Director of Health, the Director of Human Services, the Administrator of the State Health Planning and Development Agency, and the Administrator of the Maui Long Term Care Partnership.

Report Title:

Home and Community Based Services; EOA; DOH; DHS; Study

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	33
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1