HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.R. NO.14            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                     HOUSE RESOLUTION

URGING COUNSELORS, CLERGY OF ALL RELIGIONS, FAITH HEALERS, AND
   HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS TO INTEGRATE SPIRITUAL AND
   CULTURAL COUNSELING SERVICES INTO THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.



 1       WHEREAS, living and dying with dignity takes many different
 2   forms in Hawaii's rich cultural community; and
 3   
 4       WHEREAS, many religious and cultural traditions have
 5   resources and practices that can make the dying process more
 6   dignified and holistic; and
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, the Governor's Blue Ribbon Panel on Living and
 9   Dying with Dignity (Blue Ribbon Panel) has been looking at how
10   to encourage greater access to, and use of, spiritual and
11   cultural resources and practices that will be helpful and
12   healing to individuals and their family at the end of their
13   lives; and
14   
15       WHEREAS, it is believed by many that, in most cases, when
16   an individual has had the opportunity to work on and deal with
17   the many personal and spiritual issues that arise at the end of
18   life, and when this work has been done well, that the physical
19   process of dying will take a more natural and easy course; and
20   
21       WHEREAS, ideally, it would be best for individuals to have
22   the opportunity to communicate with family and friends before
23   they die, and to have available to them such spiritual
24   counseling as they desire and deem appropriate; and
25   
26       WHEREAS, the Blue Ribbon Panel believes that
27   misunderstandings regarding the meaning of death and its
28   spiritual benefits are gently lifted through communication and
29   affirmation of the cycles of life; and
30   
31       WHEREAS, the Blue Ribbon Panel has unanimously recommended
32   that spiritual counseling be made more available to individuals
33   who are afflicted with life-threatening illnesses by
34   integrating those services more fully into the health care
35   system; now, therefore,

 
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 1       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
 2   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 3   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that counselors, clergy of all
 4   religions, faith healers, and health care professionals
 5   integrate spiritual and cultural counseling services into the
 6   health care system; and
 7   
 8       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that counselors, clergy of all
 9   religions, and faith healers be:
10   
11       (1)  Made available to individuals in all health care
12            facilities;
13   
14       (2)  Included and integrated into the teamwork of health
15            care systems following national models;
16   
17       (3)  Trained to help people deal with the issues that face
18            them at the end of their lives; and
19   
20       (4)  Sensitive to personal and spiritual preference of
21            individuals in health care facilities where chaplains
22            are in place;
23   
24       and
25   
26       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all counselors, clergy of all
27   religions, faith healers, and health care providers present
28   honest and clear options to patients who face the end of their
29   lives; and
30   
31       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that various religions, churches,
32   synagogues, and temples:
33   
34       (1)  Help their communities deal with and be more
35            comfortable with death; and
36   
37       (2)  Do all they can to offer care at the end of life,
38            including such programs as health ministries;
39   
40       and
41   
42       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that counselors, clergy, and faith
43   healers encourage family conversation about death and dying
44   before illness, while family members are alive and well; and

 
 
 
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 1       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that misunderstandings regarding the
 2   meaning of death and its spiritual benefits be lifted through
 3   communication and affirmation of the cyle of life; and 
 4   
 5       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
 6   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the
 7   Council of Churches and the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.
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