HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	56
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE Hawaii Army National Guard to provide emergency transport services by helicopter to individuals from Leeward Oahu and communities in the immediate vicinity who require immediate trauma care.

     WHEREAS, at one time, Hawaii Medical Center's West Oahu facility provided medical services to a vast population that extended from Leeward Oahu to the Ewa plain; and

WHEREAS, however, in December 2011, the closure of Hawaii Medical Center's West Oahu facility in Ewa, as well as its East Oahu facility in Liliha, resulted in diminished access to medical care and treatment services for all Oahu residents and burdened existing medical facilities, which have had to accommodate a greater patient load due to the closures; and

     WHEREAS, since December 2011, closures of these medical facilities have left the Ewa and Waipahu areas without access to an emergency room in the immediate vicinity, resulting in inundated emergency rooms at Wahiawa General and Pali Momi hospitals, a shortage of beds island-wide, and a loss of doctors' offices; and

WHEREAS, according to emergency medical services' officials, the closures of Hawaii Medical Center's two facilities has also led to an increase in 911 calls, thus taxing ambulance services island-wide; and

WHEREAS, residents in Leeward Oahu and communities in the immediate vicinity are particularly affected by substantially reduced access to healthcare and delayed access to emergency medical care since they must now be transported to The Queen's Medical Center, the only trauma care facility in the State, to receive such services; and

     WHEREAS, alternatives to enable efficient and reliable emergency transport services must be pursued to provide Leeward Oahu and other affected communities with immediate access to critical emergency care services; and

WHEREAS, one option is to have the Hawaii Army National Guard provide emergency transport services by helicopter from Leeward Oahu and other affected communities in the immediate vicinity to The Queen's Medical Center when immediate access to trauma care is needed; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Army National Guard is urged to provide transport services by helicopter from Leeward Oahu and communities in the immediate vicinity to The Queen's Medical Center or other emergency services facility when immediate access to trauma care is needed; and

     BE IT further RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and the Adjutant General of the Hawaii National Guard.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

National Guard; Helicopter Emergency Services