STAND. COM. REP. NO. 568

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 713

       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 Human Services and Public Housing and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 713 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSE AIDES,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to establish certification procedures for nurse aides employed in state licensed or state certified health care settings and Medicare or Medicaid facilities.

     The Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and the Hawaii Long Term Care Association submitted testimony in support of this measure.  The Department of Health and the Department of Human Services submitted testimony in support of the intent of this measure.  The Health Care Association of Hawaii submitted comments.

     Your Committees find that certifying nurse aides who work in nursing facilities participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs and in other state licensed and certified health care settings will enable the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Department of Human Services, and the Department of Health to monitor and evaluate the quality and competency of the nurse aides practicing in the State.

     Upon further consideration, your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Removing the penalty for substantiated allegations;

     (2)  Defining the terms "finding" and "medicare or medicaid certified facility";

     (3)  Requiring an applicant to successfully complete training in a state‑approved training program to receive Medicare or Medicaid nurse aide certification;

     (4)  Permitting information to be removed from the nurse aide registry under certain circumstances; and

     (5)  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 Human Services and Public Housing and Health that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 713, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 713, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Health,

____________________________ DAVID Y. IGE, Chair

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair