STAND. COM. REP. NO.765-02

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2002

RE: S.B. No. 2777

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2002

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred S.B. No. 2777 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to allow a person or the guardian, agent, or surrogate with legal authority, to make healthcare decisions on behalf of the person to:

(1) Allow withholding of cardiac resuscitation and artificial breathing; or

(2) Revoke "comfort care only – do not resuscitate" (CCO-DNR) documents.

The Department of Health testified in support of this measure.

Your Committee finds that current law specifies a physician's declaration of a terminal condition as the only circumstance for implementation of the pre-hospital CCO-DNR protocols, and does not allow personal choice. Physicians are placed in a difficult and uncomfortable position with diagnosing a person as being terminally ill. This measure will allow the individual to make their own determination in regards to resuscitation.

 

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to June 30, 2020, for purposes of promoting further discussion; and

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

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 S.B. No. 2777, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2777, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs.

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

 

____________________________

DENNIS A. ARAKAKI, Chair