Bill Text: HI HCR167 | 2015 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Mental Health Workforce Assessment

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-04-14 - Referred to HTH, WAM. [HCR167 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2015-HCR167-Amended.html

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

167

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF THE AUDITOR TO CONDUCT A MENTAL HEALTH WORKFORCE ASSESSMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS AND MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES TO IDENTIFY SHORTAGES AND AID IN PROPOSING SOLUTIONS TO ADDRESS THOSE SHORTAGES.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, in the health care and public health arena, more emphasis and resources have been devoted to screening, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illness than to preserving  mental health, and little has been done to protect the mental health of those free of mental illness; and

 

     WHEREAS, the most commonly quoted definition of "health" is formalized by the World Health Organization, "a complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity"; and

 

     WHEREAS, an important implication of this definition by the World Health Organization, also used by the National Institute of Mental Health and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that mental health is an integral part of health, there is no health without mental health; and

 

     WHEREAS, mental health is determined by socioeconomic, biological, and environmental factors; and

 

     WHEREAS, mental health disorders are the leading cause of disability in the United States, affecting an estimated thirteen million American adults every year and accounting for twenty-five percent of all years of life lost to disability and premature mortality; and

 

     WHEREAS, individuals at risk for developing mental disorders experience limited available resources and services to suit their specific mental health needs; and

 

     WHEREAS, the mentally ill are often incarcerated rather than given proper care in the State's mental health system; and

 

     WHEREAS, although medication is one option to address mental health services, there is a perceived shortage of professionals who are qualified and licensed to prescribe medications for mental health conditions, especially in rural areas of the State; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the Senate concurring, that the Auditor is requested to conduct a mental health workforce assessment of mental health professionals and mental health facilities in Hawaii to identify shortages and determine how those shortages can be reduced; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to include in the assessment information on professionals who are qualified to prescribe medications used to treat mental illness, including psychotropic and anti-psychotic medications; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the mental health workforce assessment is requested to include:

 

     (1)  The estimated number of the following mental health professionals currently located and practicing in the State:

 

          (A)  Physicians;

 

          (B)  Psychiatrists;

 

          (C)  Psychologists, Ph.D.;

 

          (D)  Psychologists, Psy.D.;

 

          (E)  Advanced practice psychiatric nurses;

 

          (F)  Licensed clinical social workers;

 

          (G)  Mental health counselors;

 

          (H)  Marriage and family therapists;

 

          (I)  Substance abuse counselors; and

 

          (J)  Other licensed and unlicensed individuals who provide mental health care; and

 

     (2)  A geographic profile in the State for each of the following:

 

          (A)  Physicians;

 

          (B)  Psychiatrists;

 

          (C)  Psychologists, Ph.D.;

 

          (D)  Psychologists, Psy.D.;

 

          (E)  Advanced practice psychiatric nurses;

 

          (F)  Licensed clinical social workers;

 

          (G)  Mental health counselors;

 

          (H)  Marriage and family therapists;

 

          (I)  Substance abuse counselors; and

 

          (J)  Other licensed and unlicensed individuals who provide mental health care; and

 

     (3)  The estimated number of university students in the State who studied the mental health subjects of psychiatry, psychology, clinical mental health counseling, human services, social work, nursing, and marriage and family therapy, and who graduated with one of the following degrees from an undergraduate or graduate program in Hawaii:

 

          (A)  Bachelor's;

 

          (B)  Master's;

 

          (C)  Doctorate, M.D., D.O., and N.D.;

 

          (D)  Doctorate, Ph.D.;

 

          (E)  Doctorate, Psy.D.; and

 

          (F)  Other degrees associated with mental health care; and

 

     (4)  The name and location of the following mental health facilities located in Hawaii:

 

          (A)  Long-term care facilitation units, "closed";

 

          (B)  Medium-term care facilitation units;

 

          (C)  "Open" units;

 

          (D)  Juvenile wards;

 

          (E)  Out-patient clinics;

 

          (F)  Halfway houses; and

 

          (G)  Other facilities providing mental health care; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Auditor is requested to submit the Auditor's findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Auditor and the Director of Health.

 

 

 

Report Title:

Mental Health Workforce Assessment

 

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