STAND. COM. REP. NO. 515-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: H.B. No. 1635

H.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness, to which was referred H.B. No. 1635 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HEALTH CARE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to establish a Rural Health Task Force to prepare and develop solutions and make recommendations on the recruitment and retention of registered nurses in rural areas of East Maui, Molokai, and Lanai.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from one member of the County Council for the County of Maui, Lāna‘i Community Health Center, Hana Health, Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, Molokai Community Health Center, The Queen's Health Systems, Liberty Dialysis - Hawaii, and Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Health, Department of Human Services, Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing, and Hawai‘i - American Nurses Association.

Your Committee finds that there is a vital need for health care workers in rural areas of East Maui, Molokai, and Lanai. Your Committee further finds that nurses provide much of the health care in rural settings. This measure addresses the challenges of providing health care services in the rural areas of East Maui, Molokai, and Lanai by establishing a task force to identify the steps needed to recruit and retain registered nurses in rural areas of these communities.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Changing the effective date to July 1, 2060, to encourage further discussion; and

(2) Making a technical, nonsubstantive amendment for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1635, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1635, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health, Human Services, & Homelessness,

____________________________

RYAN I. YAMANE, Chair