STAND. COM. REP. NO. 856

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 889

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 889, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish health care-associated infection reporting requirements to ensure that Hawaii is consistent with the efforts of federal agencies to control the spread of health care-associated infections and to ensure that the Department of Health has access to health care-associated infection data reported by Hawaii's health care providers to the federal government. 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and Healthcare Association of Hawaii. 

     Your Committee finds that the State's health care-associated infection reporting protocol needs to be updated to align with federal reporting standards.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to allow for further discussion; and

     (2)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 889, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 889, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Labor.

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

____________________________

JOSH GREEN, M.D., Chair