HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	210
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION to REPORT ON THE FEASIBILITY OF STOCKING SHORT-ACTING BRONCHODILATORS IN SCHOOLS FOR EMERGENCY USE.

WHEREAS, according to the Department of Health, more than one hundred ten thousand residents are living with asthma and approximately one-third of those residents are children; and

WHEREAS, the chronic respiratory disease occurs most commonly among children eleven years of age and younger; and

WHEREAS, every year, some five thousand people in Hawaii visit emergency rooms due to asthma and another one thousand five hundred are hospitalized, with infants and very young children making up the majority of asthma-related medical emergencies and hospitalizations; and

WHEREAS, every year, asthma costs the State approximately $4,200,000 in emergency room visits and approximately $14,000,000 in hospitalizations; and

WHEREAS, asthma attacks can occur at any time and often without warning, and children with asthma should always have access to medication that can quickly reverse the blockages in their lungs; and

WHEREAS, short-acting bronchodilators, commonly referred to as albuterol inhalers, can be life-saving, are easy to administer, inexpensive, and very safe that can be easily administered by non-medical personnel who have adequate training on its use; and

WHEREAS, when children do not have asthma medication, which can occur for a variety of reasons such as forgetting or not being able to afford the medication, schools have few options, which include calling the parents or 911 to be transported to an emergency room; however, these options require parents to incur the costs of emergency services, tie up emergency room resources, and take children out of the classroom for days at a time and further impedes their learning; and

WHEREAS, ensuring access to rescue medication is part of guidelines-based response to asthma emergencies based on the Managing Asthma: A Guide for Schools from the National Institutes of Health; and

WHEREAS, as of 2022, fifteen states have already passed legislation that allows stock albuterol in schools for emergency situations; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Department of Education is requested to report on the feasibility of stocking bronchodilators for emergency use during respiratory distress and authorizing Department of Education employees to volunteer to administer bronchodilators; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the report is requested to include information on the fifteen states that have already passed legislation allowing schools to stock bronchodilators and how these programs have been implemented; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education work in partnership with community organizations, such as the American Lung Association, Hawaii State Center on Nursing, and Hawaii Medical Association to develop the report; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Hawaii, Director of the Hawaii State Center for Nursing, and President of the Hawaii Medical Association.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

DOE; Bronchodilators; Schools; Feasibility