STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1617

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: S.C.R. No. 28

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2023

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Health and Human Services and Transportation and Culture and the Arts, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 28 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DESIGNATING THE MONTH OF MARCH AS HAWAII KIDNEY AWARENESS MONTH,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose and intent of this measure is to designate the month of March as Hawaii Kidney Awareness Month.

Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Health, U.S. Renal Care, Healthcare Association of Hawaii, National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente Hawai‘i, Liberty Dialysis-Hawaii, The Queen's Health System, Hawaii Medical Association, and one individual.

Your Committees find that the State's kidney failure rate is thirty percent higher than the national rate, and studies have shown that incidence rates of end-stage kidney disease among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are especially high. Your Committees also find that kidney disease is often referred to as a "silent disease" due to the lack of symptoms during its early stages, and as many as ninety percent of people who have chronic kidney disease had been unaware of their disease until it reached advanced stages. This measure will increase awareness of kidney health and disease in the State, thereby supporting early detection and allowing people to take steps in the diseases' early stages to prevent further damage.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Health and Human Services and Transportation and Culture and the Arts that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 28 and recommend its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Health and Human Services and Transportation and Culture and the Arts,

________________________________ CHRIS LEE, Chair

________________________________ JOY A. SAN BUENAVENTURA, Chair