STAND. COM. REP. NO. 553

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.B. No. 401

       S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2017

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 401 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO NURSING,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to allow advanced practice registered nurses to offer care and services to minors and patients in assisted community treatment similar to care and services offered by physicians and other healthcare service providers.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Board of Nursing, Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing, Hawaii Government Employees Association, and ten individuals.

     Your Committee finds that advanced practice registered nurses are licensed healthcare practitioners qualified to provide primary medical services to adolescents.  Your Committee further finds that advanced practice registered nurses fill an important role in caring for patients' current and future health needs, and can help improve timely access to qualified behavioral health services for individuals most in need of care, such as severely mentally ill patients in assisted community treatment.  Your Committee notes that while the State is experiencing a shortage of behavioral health specialists, the number of advanced practice registered nurses has nearly doubled in the years between 2005 and 2015.

     Your Committee additionally finds that removing barriers to practice for advanced practice registered nurses will produce better access to safe, timely, quality healthcare for patients in Hawaii.  More specifically, advanced practice registered nurses with psychiatric specialties are highly qualified to assess, diagnose, treat, and prescribe to patients with mental health conditions as well as adolescents in need of mental health services.

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Amending the definition of "advanced practice registered nurse" and other provisions related to assisted community treatment to require that advanced practice registered nurses and advanced practice registered nurses with prescriptive authority who are assessing, treating, or providing diagnosis or medication to individuals in assisted community treatment have a psychiatric specialization;

     (2)  Inserting language to establish that an advanced practice registered nurse can only be a "licensed mental health professional" authorized to provide mental health treatment or counseling services to a minor if the advanced practice registered nurse holds a psychiatric specialization; and

     (3)  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 Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 401, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 401, S.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health,

________________________________

ROSALYN H. BAKER, Chair