HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

72

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH to develop and adopt POLICIES THAT ensure NOTIFICATION BY all health care facilities and health care providers to the GOVERNOR-designated protection and advocacy entity or agency prior to transferring any individual out-of-state to a treatment, rehabilitation, or long-term care facility.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, a very serious issue facing our state is the lack of capacity currently in our community to provide adequate care in community-based residential settings; and

 

     WHEREAS, this is true not only for individuals with disabilities, but for the vast majority of elderly individuals in need of basic medical care or assistance with their activities of daily living; and

 

     WHEREAS, the lack of capacity will become more exacerbated over time, as our population ages; and

 

     WHEREAS, one of the unfortunate results of this lack of capacity has been a disturbing increase in the number of Hawaii residents transferred from hospitals or treatment facilities in Hawaii to facilities on the mainland; and

 

     WHEREAS, as an island community, we have a responsibility to properly care for our elders and individuals with disabilities; and

 

     WHEREAS, the notion of shipping our kupuna to the mainland merely because they are old or ill and are occupying valuable space in a hospital while they are waiting for a bed to open up at a nursing home or care home is deplorable; and
     WHEREAS, we need to reverse this alarming trend of sending our local elders and citizens with disabilities to the mainland simply because we lack the facilities to care for them here at home; and

 

     WHEREAS, we must build, develop, and increase our capacity to care for our people in a way that preserves their dignity and allows them to reside in a community-based setting and receive care appropriate to their needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, on a case-by-case basis, individuals who may be subject to a transfer to a mainland facility need to be apprised of their legal rights and need to be able to consult with a suitable advocacy agency to determine whether their rights are being violated or whether their needs are being met; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii has a governor-designated protection and advocacy system under section 333F-8.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that is well designed and equipped to perform this function; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is hereby requested to develop and adopt policies that ensure notification by all health care facilities and health care providers to the protection and advocacy entity or agency designated pursuant to section 333F-8.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, prior to transferring any individual out-of-state to a treatment, rehabilitation, or long-term care facility; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, and Director of Human Services.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

ELDERLY AND DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLED; TRANSFERS TO MAINLAND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES; NOTIFICATION TO APPROPRIATE STATE AGENCIES.