HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2434

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO HEALTH.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


PART I

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the Puna district on the island of Hawaii is approximately five hundred square miles and according to a 2010 census, has a population of 45,326.  Puna has become the fastest growing district in the State, with a population increase of forty-four per cent since 2000.  Over the next fifteen years the population of Puna is expected to be approximately seventy-five thousand.  This population growth has significantly impacted the Hawaii county fire department's emergency medical services medic units in Puna and Hilo.

     The legislature further finds that the residents of Puna are faced with various economic and transportation challenges.  Due to the risk of being inundated by lava, portions of Puna are extremely vulnerable and threatened with inaccessibility.  Access to health care in Puna is also difficult because many Puna residents are up to thirty miles away from the nearest primary care provider.

     The legislature additionally finds that the Hawaii county fire department's emergency medical services has become the health care access point for many Puna residents.  From 2015 to 2016, the Puna district accounted for thirty per cent of emergency medical service calls.  Since 2007, there has been a fifty per cent increase in responses from Hilo medic units into the Puna district, leaving Hilo without adequate emergency medical services.  Based in the Keaau and Pahoa fire stations, two emergency medical services units handle ninety-one per cent of the emergency medical services calls from Puna residents and the paramedics face progressive burnout due to long shifts.

     The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds to establish and staff an advanced life support medic unit in Puna on the island of Hawaii.

     SECTION 2.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016-2017 to establish and staff an advanced life support medic unit in Puna on the island of Hawaii.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of health for the purposes of this Act.

PART II

     SECTION 3.  The legislature finds that response times for emergency medical services significantly impact the overall time it takes to transport patients to the emergency room to receive treatment.  The National Fire Protection Association, which creates standards for fire services, and has determined that emergency medical services medic unit crews must respond to scenes of emergency within eight minutes.  According to the association's publication, NFPA 1710: Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations, "this requirement is based on experience, expert consensus and science.  Many studies note the role of time and the delivery of early defibrillation in patient survival due to heart attacks and cardiac arrest which are the most time-critical, resource-intensive medical emergency events to which fire departments respond."  Trauma cases are also very time-sensitive, and the ability of emergency medical services crews to rapidly transport patients to medical facilities for treatment often makes the difference between life and death.

     The legislature further finds that on the island of Hawaii, North Kona's new Makalei fire station fills a firefighting gap on highway 190 between the Kailua fire station and the Waikoloa fire station.  The Makalei station has a fire engine, is home to a hazardous materials response unit, and serves a community of approximately forty-five thousand residents in one of the fastest-growing districts in the State.  However, current emergency medical services responses to North Kona come from the medic seven unit based at the Kailua fire station, the medic twelve unit based at the Keauhou fire station, and the medic sixteen unit based at the Waikoloa fire station.  These facilities are located eight, fifteen, and twenty miles from North Kona, respectively.  Medics seven and twelve account for seventeen per cent of the emergency medical services calls on the island, and in the best circumstances will respond to North Kona in eight to fifteen minutes.  If neither of these units are available, North Kona must rely upon medic sixteen, which usually takes twenty-five to thirty minutes to respond.  Further, the approximate transport time from North Kona to Kona community hospital is twenty to thirty minutes.

     The legislature further finds that given the current availability of emergency medical services in North Kona, patients who need those services and time-sensitive definitive treatment are at risk of losing their health or their lives.

     The purpose of this Act is to provide funding for the operation of emergency medical services for North Kona.

     SECTION 4.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2016-2017 for the operation of emergency medical services for North Kona.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the county of Hawaii for the purposes of this Act.

PART III

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2070.



 

Report Title:

Emergency Medical Services; Puna; North Kona; Appropriations

 

Description:

Appropriates funds to establish and staff an advanced life support medic unit in Puna on the Island of Hawaii and for emergency medical services for North Kona.  (HB2434 HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.