HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

AMENDMENT TO:

Senate Bill No. 2690, Senate Draft 2, House Draft 2

 

OFFERED BY:

Representative Brian Blundell

 

DATE:

April 13, 2004

 

SECTION 1. Senate Bill No. 2690, Senate Draft 2, House Draft 2 is amended by amending section 1 to read as follows:

"PART I

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that rapid response of emergency medical services is critical for positive outcomes for emergency patients. The need to provide adequate emergency medical care to residents of rural areas, particularly on the neighbor islands, is vital. There is also a need to expand emergency medical services on Oahu to meet nationally recognized guidelines for advanced life support response time to medical emergencies.

 

 

 

The legislature further finds that funding for emergency medical services has always been a critical issue. User fees for emergency medical services are deposited into the general fund but are not an adequate source of funding for emergency medical services.

The legislature further finds that the retention and recruitment of paramedics plays an essential role in maintaining quality emergency medical services.

The purpose of this Act is to:

(1) Establish an emergency medical services special fund through additional state vehicle registration fees for the department of health to provide additional services by the State's comprehensive emergency medical services system;

(2) Provide funds for additional emergency medical services to serve residents of the Waianae coast and Nanakuli;

(3) Provide for development and training for paramedics to address recruitment and retention issue that would impede the State's emergency medical services system; and

(4) Reduce liability exposure and to allow matching of program expansion with funding availability by making provision of emergency aeromedical services permissive."

SECTION 2. Senate Bill No. 2690, Senate Draft 2, House Draft 2 is amended by adding a new Part IV, to read as follows:

"PART IV

SECTION 9. Section 321-223, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"[[]§321-223[]] State comprehensive emergency medical services system, establishment. The department [of health] shall establish, administer, and maintain the state comprehensive emergency medical services system to serve the emergency health needs of the people of the State. The department [of health] in the implementation of this part shall plan, coordinate, and provide assistance to all entities and

agencies, public and private, involved in the state system. All emergency medical services or ambulance services conducted by or under the authority of the department [of health] or any county shall be consistent with this part. The department may include emergency aeromedical services as part of the state comprehensive emergency medical services system subject to the availability of funding."

SECTION 10. Section 321-224, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) In addition to other functions and duties assigned under this part, the department shall:

(1) Regulate ambulances and ambulance services;

(2) Establish emergency medical services throughout the State, [including emergency aeromedical services,] which shall meet the requirements of this part, subject to section 321-228;

(3) Review and approve the curricula and syllabi of training courses offered to emergency medical services personnel who provide basic, intermediate, and advanced life support, consult and coordinate with the University of Hawaii, or any other accredited community college, college, or university, or any professional organization that provides emergency medical services training, regarding the training for basic, intermediate, and advanced life support personnel, as provided in section 321-229;

(4) Collect and evaluate data for the continued evaluation of the state system, subject to section 321-230;

(5) Coordinate emergency medical resources and the allocation of the state system's services and facilities in the event of mass casualties, natural disasters, national emergencies, and other emergencies, ensuring linkage to local, state, and national disaster plans, and participation in exercises to test these plans;

(6) Establish, administer, and maintain a communication system for the state system;

(7) Assist each county in the development of a "911" emergency telephone system;

(8) Secure technical assistance and other assistance and consultation necessary for the implementation of this part, subject to section 321-230;

(9) Implement public information and education programs to inform the public of the state system and its use, and disseminate other emergency medical information, including appropriate methods of medical self-help and first-aid, and the availability of first-aid training programs in the State;

(10) Establish standards and provide training for dispatchers in the state system, and maintain a program of quality assurance for dispatch equipment and operations;

(11) Establish a program that will enable emergency service personnel to provide early defibrillation;

(12) Establish within the department the emergency medical service system for children;

(13) Consult with the advisory committee on matters relating to the implementation of this part; and

(14) Establish and maintain standards for emergency medical services course instructor qualifications and requirements for emergency medical services training facilities."

SECTION 11. Section 321-230, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (b) and (c) to read as follows:

"(b) The department [shall] may, subject to the availability of funding, establish, administer, and maintain an aeromedical emergency medical services system designed to collect and analyze data to measure the efficiency and effectiveness of each phase of an emergency aeromedical program.

The aeromedical emergency medical services system shall, subject to the availability of funding, serve the emergency health needs of the people of the State by identifying:

(1) The system's strengths and weaknesses;

(2) The allocation of resources; and

(3) The development of rotary-wing emergency aeromedical services standards;

provided that emergency helicopter use, including triage protocols, shall be based on national aeromedical triage and transport guidelines established by the Association of Air Medical Services, the American College of Surgeons, and the National Association of Emergency Medical Service Physicians. The department, in the implementation of this subsection, shall plan, coordinate, and provide assistance to all entities and agencies, public and private, involved in the system.

(c) The department [shall] may use an emergency aeromedical services quality improvement committee comprised of representatives of trauma, emergency, and tertiary care physicians and providers to analyze information collected from the aeromedical quality improvement performance measures as established by the American College of Surgeons, and to recommend system standards and resources to maintain and improve the Hawaii emergency aeromedical services system.""

SECTION 3. Senate Bill No. 2690, Senate Draft 2, House Draft 2 is amended by renumbering the original Part IV and its respective section numbers, to read as follows:

"PART V

SECTION 12. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 13. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2004."