THE SENATE

KA ‘AHA KENEKOA

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HALE O NĀ LUNA MAKA‘ĀINANA

THE THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE

INTERIM OF 2023

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Senator Joy A. San Buenaventura, Chair

Senator Henry J.C. Aquino, Vice Chair

Sen. Sharon Y. Moriwaki	Sen. Brenton Awa
Sen. Maile S.L. Shimabukuro

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH & HOMELESSNESS

Rep. Della Au Belatti, Chair

Rep. Jenna Takenouchi, Vice Chair

Rep. Terez Amato	Rep. John M. Mizuno
Rep. Greggor Ilagan	Rep. Scott Y. Nishimoto
Rep. Bertrand Kobayashi	Rep. Diamond Garcia

NOTICE OF INFORMATIONAL BRIEFING

DATE:	Wednesday, October 4, 2023
TIME:	12:00 pm
PLACE:	Conference Room 329 & Via Videoconference State Capitol 415 South Beretania Street

PHOTO ID REQUIRED FOR ENTRANCE TO THE STATE CAPITOL

BUILDING HOURS: 7AM TO 5PM, MONDAY - FRIDAY

A live stream of all Standing Committee meetings will be available on YouTube.

Click here for more information about Live and On-Demand Video options.

A G E N D A

The purpose of the briefing is to receive updates and recommendations from the Department of Health (DOH) and Hep Free Hawai‘i community partners on “Hep Free 2030”, the statewide viral hepatitis elimination strategy and its impacts for the State, per House Concurrent Resolution 205, 2023.

Hepatitis B and C are both preventable and treatable, but they cause high death rates for Hawaiʻi residents, especially people of Asian and/or Pacific Islander descent. For example, recent data shows life expectancy decreases by twenty years for people diagnosed with hepatitis C in Hawaiʻi.

To address this epidemic, DOH partners closely with the Hep Free Hawai‘i coalition to implement “Hep Free 2030: The Hawai‘i Hepatitis Elimination Strategy 2020-2030” to eliminate hepatitis in the State by 2030. This plan aims to prevent infection and death due to viral hepatitis for all Hawaiʻi citizens.

The following persons have been invited to participate:

· Timothy McCormick (he/him), Chief, DOH Harm Reduction Services Branch

· Thaddeus Pham (he/him), Viral Hepatitis Prevention Coordinator, DOH Harm Reduction Services Branch

· Dr. Naoky Tsai (he/him), Clinical Professor of Medicine, JABSOM UH; practicing hepatologist 

· Dr. Melissa Bumgardner (she/her), Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center

· Kenson Alik (he/him), Director, Micronesian Education for Liver Wellness Project (Hep Free Hawai‘i)

· Heather Lusk (she/her), Executive Director, Hawai‘i Health and Harm Reduction Center

Briefing Materials

No public testimony will be accepted.

The cable TV broadcast and/or live stream of this meeting will include closed captioning. If you require other auxiliary aids or services to participate in the public hearing process (i.e., interpretive services (oral or written) or ASL interpreter), please contact the committee clerk at least 24 hours prior to the hearing so that arrangements can be made.

FOR AMENDED NOTICES:  Measures that have been deleted are stricken through and measures that have been added are underscored.  If a measure is both underscored and stricken through, that measure has been deleted from the agenda.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL THE COMMITTEE CLERK AT (808) 586-6890.

_____________________________________ Rep. Della Au Belatti Chair	_____________________________________ Senator Joy A. San Buenaventura Chair
_____________________________________ Rep. Scott K. Saiki Speaker of the House	_____________________________________ Senator Ronald D. Kouchi President of the Senate