HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

38

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

URGING the HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION AND ST. FRANCIS HEALTHCARE SYSTEM TO continue their PARTNERSHIP IN SERVING THE NEEDS OF DIALYSIS PATIENTS IN the PUNA district of the island of hawaii by expanding its network of dialysis treatment facilities to the Keaau Family Center in the Puna District.

 

WHEREAS, the National Kidney Foundation estimates that as many as twenty million Americans have kidney disease and thousands of individuals die from kidney disease each year; and

WHEREAS, the National Kidney Foundation further estimates that about one thousand five hundred Hawaii residents need regular dialysis treatment, with about two-thirds receiving treatment through several centers run by St. Francis Hospital; and

WHEREAS, during each treatment session, patients spend from three to five hours hooked up to a dialysis machine that cleans their blood, doing the work normally done by a healthy kidney; and

WHEREAS, regular dialysis treatments are absolutely necessary for dialysis patients whose lives would be threatened should a dialysis machine and its technicians be unavailable; and

WHEREAS, St. Francis Healthcare System is currently caring for one hundred twenty-five Big Island kidney dialysis patients at the Hilo Medical Center; and

WHEREAS, St. Francis Healthcare System currently has three satellite dialysis treatment centers on the Big Island at Hilo Hospital, Kona Hospital, and North Hawaii Community Hospital; and

WHEREAS, the kidney dialysis patients living in the Puna District, including Volcano, Ola'a, Keaau, Kapoho, Kalapana, and Pahoa, need to travel thirty to forty miles to receive their dialysis treatment; and

WHEREAS, it is imperative that the partnership between the State and St. Francis Healthcare System continue to ensure the provision of the life-saving service of dialysis treatment to residents of the Puna District as well as to visitors to the area; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and St. Francis Healthcare System are urged to continue the current partnership and expand the network of dialysis facilities to the Keaau Family Health Center in the Puna District and other community health centers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation and St. Francis Healthcare System are urged to conduct a needs assessment that will determine the cost and requirements of establishing a dialysis center in Puna; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Directors and the Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, and the Chief Executive Officer of the St. Francis Healthcare System.

 

Report Title:

Dialysis Treatment; Puna District