04/25/2025 01:30 PM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 27                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to medical care for major                                                                                 
     emergencies."                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
4:32:57 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster asked  the sponsor to provide  a brief recap                                                                    
of the bill.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KATIE   GIORGIO,  STAFF,   REPRESENTATIVE  GENEVIEVE   MINA,                                                                    
SPONSOR, provided  an overview  of the bill.  She summarized                                                                    
that HB 27  provided a coordinated statewide  system of care                                                                    
for  Alaskans experiencing  heart attacks  and strokes.  The                                                                    
state had  a trauma system  of care for many  years centered                                                                    
in the Department of Health  (DOH), which included training,                                                                    
coordination,  adoption   of  protocols,  a   trauma  center                                                                    
registry  system  with  hospitals that  specified  different                                                                    
levels of care, and  robust data collection. The legislation                                                                    
strove  to replicate  the  trauma system  of  care to  heart                                                                    
attack and  stroke emergencies. The program  would be housed                                                                    
within  DOH. She  added  that a  Guardian  Flight letter  of                                                                    
support was recently added to  the member's bill files (copy                                                                    
on file).                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
4:35:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster OPENED public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
BRIAN WEBB, SELF,  ANCHORAGE (via teleconference), testified                                                                    
in support  of the bill. He  shared that he was  a paramedic                                                                    
and critical care flight paramedic  for 50 years. He relayed                                                                    
that since the passage of  HB 168 [Trauma Care Centers/Fund,                                                                    
Chapter 98  SLA 10,  06/21/2010] in 2010,  which established                                                                    
trauma centers  and a trauma  system of care, the  state was                                                                    
collecting  and  using  important  trauma  related  data  to                                                                    
identify  "hot spots",  allocate  additional resources,  and                                                                    
develop a design pattern to  enact preventative measures. He                                                                    
elaborated  that  the  data allowed  Alaska  EMS  to  target                                                                    
resources,  training  protocols, and  equipment  acquisition                                                                    
towards  trauma  care.  He  emphasized  that  HB  127  would                                                                    
accomplish  the same  outcome for  medical emergencies.  The                                                                    
same  type of  volunteer hospital  facility designation  for                                                                    
Level  1 through  Level 5  trauma centers  that allowed  for                                                                    
inspections and facilitated  facility recertifications would                                                                    
be  established   for  heart   attack  and   stroke  medical                                                                    
emergencies.  The bill  allowed  EMS to  determine where  to                                                                    
deliver the  patients to the  most appropriate  facility and                                                                    
help  decrease  mortality.  He added  that  the  bill  would                                                                    
result  in  cost savings,  better  patient  outcomes, and  a                                                                    
reduction in permanent disability. He asked for support.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:38:12 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TIMOTHY  PETERSON, PHYSICIAN,  JUNEAU (via  teleconference),                                                                    
spoke in support of the bill.  He shared that he was calling                                                                    
on  behalf of  his position  as Medical  Director, Southeast                                                                    
Region   EMS,   which   assisted   27   different   agencies                                                                    
transporting  patients.  He   was  concerned  about  patient                                                                    
safety  and  outcomes.  He spoke  about  a  recent  regional                                                                    
conference  that  included  all  the  medical  directors  in                                                                    
Southeast Alaska, medical  directors from Airlift Northwest,                                                                    
Guardian Flight, LifeMed,  Inc., and medical representatives                                                                    
from Carnival  Cruise Lines. The discussion  centered on the                                                                    
geography  and remoteness  of Southeast  Alaska. The  bill's                                                                    
inception was born  out of the lack of  an Emergency Medical                                                                    
System like the  Trauma Care System. He  emphasized the lack                                                                    
of data  analysis to  help with  the transport  decisions of                                                                    
life   threatening  medical   emergencies  where   time  was                                                                    
critically  important to  outcomes. He  added that  training                                                                    
and  equipment  were  important to  assist  in  getting  the                                                                    
patient to the right facility.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Representative Hannan asked for  confirmation that he was in                                                                    
support  of   the  bill.  Dr.   Peterson  answered   in  the                                                                    
affirmative.  Representative  Hannan  thanked  him  for  his                                                                    
work.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
4:41:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
JAMIE MORGAN,  GOVERNMENT RELATIONS REGIONAL  LEAD, AMERICAN                                                                    
HEART     ASSOCIATION,    SACRAMENTO,     CALIFORNIA    (via                                                                    
teleconference),  testified  in  favor   of  the  bill.  She                                                                    
believed  that the  bill would  ensure timely  and effective                                                                    
treatment for  heart attack and stroke  medical emergencies.                                                                    
She  relayed  that  the  American  Heart  Association  (AHA)                                                                    
advocated for  quality systems of  care based  on nationally                                                                    
recognized standards  for heart attack and  stroke patients.                                                                    
She emphasized that the right care  at the right time at the                                                                    
right facility was essential  for time sensitive emergencies                                                                    
like   strokes.  She   delineated  that   approximately  795                                                                    
thousand  people  each  year experienced  a  stroke  in  the                                                                    
United  States (U.S.).  A care  system  that reduced  stroke                                                                    
related deaths  by 2 to  3 percent saved 20  thousand lives.                                                                    
The  care systems  improved patient  outcomes and  were cost                                                                    
effective.  She  concluded  that establishing  a  system  of                                                                    
heart  attack and  stroke care  improved outcomes  and saved                                                                    
lives.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:43:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster CLOSED public testimony.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster  set an  amendment deadline  of April  29 at                                                                    
5:00 pm                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
HB  27  was   HEARD  and  HELD  in   committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster reviewed  the  schedule  for the  following                                                                    
meeting.