HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	129
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the Department of Health to develop protocols for hospitals in the State to improve the treatment of patients contemplating suicide.

 

 

     WHEREAS, suicide is the second leading cause of death among fifteen to thirty-four year olds and tenth leading cause of death overall in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, despite improvements in overall health and health care, the national suicide rate has risen approximately twenty-seven percent in the last fifteen years; and

 

     WHEREAS, health care organizations have a unique opportunity to help prevent suicide, since people at risk of suicide are often seen in health care settings and the majority of those who die by suicide were seen by a professional in the year prior to their death, yet were not diagnosed with a mental health disorder; and

 

     WHEREAS, care for people with suicide risk is highly variable, gaps in care for individuals at risk of suicide exist and that a study to develop recommendations is needed to close those gaps; and

 

     WHEREAS, suicide prevention in health care systems should be treated similarly to heart attack prevention, with an emphasis on targeted preventive interventions for individuals with elevated risk levels; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to develop protocols for hospitals in the State to improve the treatment of patients contemplating suicide; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the hospital protocols developed by the Department of Health are requested to include the following features:

 

     (1)  Hospitals to provide one-on-one suicide counseling to suicide patients or patients who have attempted suicide;

 

     (2)  Hospitals to provide access to trained suicide counselors who are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week;

 

     (3)  Patients contemplating or who have attempted suicide and are admitted to an emergency room will receive suicide counseling in the emergency room;

 

     (4)  Patients contemplating or who have attempted suicide will not be discharged if the patient is homeless;

 

     (5)  Patients contemplating or who have attempted suicide will not be discharged to a jail, prison, or other correctional facility if the patient is not a threat to others; and

 

     (6)  Other protocols to ensure that patients contemplating or who have attempted suicide are treated with respect, compassion, and dignity; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a written report of its recommended hospital protocols, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2023; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Suicide; Mental Health; Department of Health