STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3364

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: H.B. No. 1638

H.D. 2

S.D. 1

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Health, to which was referred H.B. No. 1638, H.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION FOR A KONA HOSPITAL SITE ASSESSMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to appropriate funds to the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to conduct a site assessment to identify and evaluate viable locations for a new hospital site in North Kona on the island of Hawaii.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Kona Community Hospital; Office of the Mayor, County of Hawai‘i; and four individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that the West Hawaii community faces challenges in accessing medical services and needs a new medical facility. The Kona Community Hospital's current facility is nearly fifty years old. The hospital's aging infrastructure has major deficiencies, with many critical systems in urgent need of repair and renovation. Additionally, the Kona Community Hospital is in South Kona, while the population boom has occurred in North Kona. This measure appropriates funds for a site assessment to identify and evaluate viable locations for a new hospital in North Kona.

Your Committee acknowledges the testimony of the Kona Community Hospital, which requests an amendment requiring that a hospital needs assessment be performed before the hospital site assessment. Your Committee also notes the Kona Community Hospital's testimony that an appropriation of $500,000 is sufficient to cover both the hospital needs and site assessment.

Therefore, your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Requiring that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation perform a hospital needs assessment before performing the site assessment;

(2) Requiring the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to submit a report of its findings and recommendations of the hospital needs assessment, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the Regular Session of 2023;

(3) Appropriating funds to the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation for the hospital needs assessment;

(4) Inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion; and

(5) Amending section 1 to reflect its amended purpose.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Health that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1638, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1638, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Health,

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JARRETT KEOHOKALOLE, Chair