STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1519

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 508

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 508, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Kaua'i Service Area Board

G.M. No. 508

SHEILA L. CALCAGNO, for a term to expire 6-30-2011,

begs leave to report as follows:

     Upon review of the statement submitted by the nominee, your Committee finds that the aforementioned nominee will work with compassion and commitment to assist in administering the functions related to mental health and substance abuse for the people of Hawaii.  Your Committee further finds that the nominee has been appointed based on her credentials, integrity, and a desire to make Hawaii better through her participation on the Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Kaua'i Service Area Board to which she has been nominated.

     Your Committee received testimony supporting the nomination of Sheila L. Calcagno from the Department of Health.

     Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Ms. Calcagno, a family representative, has lived in Hawaii for thirty-four years and has been a member of the Kauai community for the past fourteen years.  She has been employed for the last eight years by the Community Health Outreach Work to Prevent AIDS Project (CHOW Project) as the sole project outreach worker on Kauai.  In this role, she provides the community, particularly the homeless, with harm reduction philosophies and strategies to improve their health including the prevention of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, Hepatitis C and other blood borne pathogens among high risk drug users.  Ms. Calcagno's life experiences are most relevant to the issues and concerns of the Kauai Service Area Board on Mental Health and Substance Abuse including membership in the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI).  She also has a certificate in Human Services from the University of Hawaii, Hilo, has a certificate for HAZMAT transportation, and has completed a four‑year term on the Community Planning Board for HIV on Oahu.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

____________________________

DAVID Y. IGE, Chair