STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2087

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2151

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2151 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LONG-TERM CARE OMBUDSMAN,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this measure is to expand the long-term care ombudsman program by adding three additional ombudsman positions for each of the neighboring counties.

 

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Maui County Executive on Aging, the Hawaii Disability Rights Center, the Hawaii Government Employees Association, ILWU Local 142, the Kokua Council, the National Association of Social Workers Hawaii Chapter, and three private citizens.  Comments on the measure were submitted by the Executive Office on Aging. 

 

     Your Committee finds that the needs of Hawaii's long-term care residents are not being met and that there is a critical need for regular and consistent visits by the long-term care ombudsman to facilities that care for the elderly.  Your Committee further finds that with additional ombudsmen, there will be an increase in training and better, more responsive monitoring of the various facilities statewide.  

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by incorporating a comment made by the Executive Office on Aging (EOA) and adding the word "state" in three instances to the position title to read "state long-term care ombudsman", which is the official title of the position already established in the EOA, as distinguished from the three new local long-term care ombudsmen.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Human Services and Public Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2151, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2151, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Human Services and Public Housing,

 

 

 

____________________________

SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair