STAND. COM. REP. NO. 454

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 153

       S.D. 1

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Health and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.B. No. 153 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NATURAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IN HEALTH CARE FACILITIES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Department of Health to assess the structural integrity of all hospitals and nursing homes in Hawaii to determine their ability to withstand different types of natural disasters.

     The Healthcare Association of Hawaii and the Structural Engineers Association of Hawaii submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Department of Health submitted testimony in opposition to this measure.  The Department of Defense submitted comments.

     Your Committees received a statement from the Structural Engineers Association of Hawaii recommending that the Committees support the total funding amount necessary to conduct an assessment study of approximately $2,000,000.  According to the Structural Engineers Association of Hawaii, the assessment study would encompass approximately forty-seven skilled or intermediate care nursing facilities and twenty-four hospitals statewide.

     The Office of Domestic Preparedness within the Office of Homeland Security issued a directive to each state requiring them to assess their ability to evacuate and shelter residents in the event of a disaster.  Of particular concern are the special populations served by hospitals and long term care facilities.  The evacuation of nursing home residents should be considered only after all other options have been considered.  Enabling nursing homes to "shelter in place" their residents and staff is the preferred alternative because it eliminates any risks resulting from transportation and does not use scarce emergency shelter resources.  However, this option requires confidence in the structural integrity of the nursing homes.

     It is your Committees' intent to require the Department of Health to assess the structural integrity of hospitals and nursing home facilities in Hawaii   Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Appropriating an unspecified sum instead of $2,000,000;

     (2)  Changing the effective date from July 1, 2007, to July 1, 2020; and

     (3)  Making technical, nonsubstantive changes for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 153, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 153, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair