Enrolled SJR 19: Relating to creating the Task Force to Assess Public Reporting of Health Care Associated Infections.
00Enrolled SJR 19 01 Relating to creating the Task Force to Assess Public Reporting of Health Care Associated 02 Infections. 03 _______________ 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS infections associated with health care are a major public health problem 06 in the United States, with an estimated 2,000,000 infections occurring each year; and 07 WHEREAS infections associated with health care cost 90,000 lives and 08 $4,500,000,000 in excess health care costs each year; and 09 WHEREAS, since 2002, six states have enacted legislation that requires hospitals to 10 report hospital-acquired infections to the public; and 11 WHEREAS advocates of mandatory reporting, including the Consumers Union, 12 believe that making information about infections associated with health care available to the 13 public will enable patients to make more informed choices about their health care and will 14 improve overall health care quality; and 15 WHEREAS the state does not currently expressly require reporting of infections 16 associated with health care and hospital-acquired infections, except as part of a risk 17 management program;
01 BE IT RESOLVED by the Alaska State Legislature that the Task Force to Assess 02 Public Reporting of Health Care Associated Infections is established in the Legislative 03 branch; the task force is composed of 10 members appointed jointly by the president of the 04 senate and the speaker of the house of representatives as follows: 05 (1) two state senators; 06 (2) two state representatives; 07 (3) the state chief of epidemiology; 08 (4) a consumer of health care who resides in rural Alaska; 09 (5) a consumer of health care who resides in urban Alaska; 10 (6) a representative of the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium; 11 (7) a representative of the Alaska Chapter of the Association of Professionals 12 in Infection Control and Epidemiology; and 13 (8) a representative of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home 14 Association; and be it 15 FURTHER RESOLVED that the public members of the task force may not receive 16 compensation, per diem, or reimbursement for travel or other expenses incurred while serving 17 on the task force, except that the persons appointed as consumers of health care are entitled to 18 reimbursement for lodging and travel expenses incurred while serving on the task force; and 19 be it 20 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall 21 (1) conduct a review of the experience of the public with reporting of 22 infections associated with health care and hospitals; and 23 (2) develop a white paper to be used for drafting legislation for reporting of 24 infections associated with health care and hospitals that addresses the unique health care 25 challenges in the state, including 26 (A) reporting mechanisms; 27 (B) data sources and possible outcome and process measures to be 28 reported; 29 (C) a timeline for implementation of recommendations; and 30 (D) the infrastructure needed for supporting a robust ongoing reporting 31 system for disseminating accurate data; and be it
01 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force may meet during and between legislative 02 sessions; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall deliver the white paper of its 04 findings to the legislature by January 31, 2007; and be it 05 FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is terminated on February 1, 2007. 06 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Karleen Jackson, 07 Commissioner, Department of Health and Social Services; and the Honorable Ted Stevens 08 and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 09 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.