STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3565

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.B. No. 2252

       H.D. 1

       S.D. 2

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Eighth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2016

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Judiciary and Labor, to which was referred H.B. No. 2252, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO DISCHARGE PLANNING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to ensure that:

     (1)  Families are supported by requiring that all patients in an inpatient hospital be given the opportunity to designate a caregiver who shall be notified prior to the discharge or transfer of the patient;

     (2)  The patient and the designated caregiver are involved in the discharge planning process; and

     (3)  The patient and caregiver are provided a consistent level of instructional support, both written and oral, prior to discharge to facilitate the patient's transition to the home setting regardless of which facility the patient is in.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the AARP Hawaii, Hawai‘i Pacific Health, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, The Queen's Health Systems, Project Dana, and four individuals.

     Your Committee finds that Hawaii's population of older adults continues to increase.  In 2012, it was estimated that Hawaii had the highest percentage of residents over the age of eighty-five in the United States.  Over the next twenty years, the percentage of Hawaii's residents over the age of eighty-five is projected to grow even higher.  These individuals are the most likely to need long-term supports and services and will likely rely on family and friends as their caregivers due to financial and resource constraints.

     Your Committee further finds that while strong home- and community-based resources, such as respite, non-medical transportation services, and home-delivered meals, are important to help caregivers and their loved ones, medical supports are also important.  Coordination among primary care providers along with preventive care will enable many seniors and other individuals with chronic or debilitating conditions to stay in their homes longer.  However, in the event of an acute episode, hospitals must provide assistance to patients and their caregivers in order to prepare them for discharge and help them transition back to their homes.  This measure ensures that all patients in an inpatient hospital have the opportunity to designate a caregiver who shall be notified prior to the discharge or transfer of the patients, involved in discharge planning, and provided instructional support, to enable patients to transition back to their homes.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by 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 Judiciary and Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 2252, H.D. 1, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 2252, H.D. 1, S.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Judiciary and Labor,

________________________________

GILBERT S.C. KEITH-AGARAN, Chair