SJR 19-TASK FORCE ON HOSPITAL INFECTIONS    2:55:15 PM CHAIR FRED DYSON announced SJR 19 to be up for consideration. SENATOR GARY STEVENS, Sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 19, said every year two million infections are acquired each year in hospitals. These infections cost between $4.5 billion and $11 billion and cause some 90,000 deaths each year. He added that hospital infection is the sixth leading cause of death in the country. It is important for consumers to know how medical facilities fare with infection rates. SJR 19 creates a task force to assess public reporting of health care associated infections. It will have 11 members who work during the interim to determine what experience hospitals across the nation have in the public reporting of hospital associated infections, develop a white paper to be used in future legislation and create legislation to assist in the collection of data from all hospitals across the state on their infection rates. 2:56:54 PM SENATOR ELTON expressed concern that public members would not receive reimbursement for travel and other expenses and that it would also create an unfair burden on rural members. SENATOR GARY STEVENS replied that the cost burden is not expected to be prohibitively high because the panel will only meet three or four times in Anchorage each year. SENATOR ELTON asked if a rural consumer lives in a remote town, like Dutch Harbor, he would incur significant expenses while traveling to the Anchorage meetings. SENATOR GARY STEVENS replied that since this is an appointed position, he could insure that the rural member lives close to Anchorage. CHAIR DYSON said he recently spoke to a public health doctor supported the resolution because it would be an important step towards establishing a comprehensive web-based list of all the providers around the state, their costs, and their track record. SENATOR WILKEN suggested that it would be most convenient to address Senator Elton's concern in the Finance Committee. 3:02:52 PM ROD BETIT, President, Alaska State Hospital Nursing Home Association (ASHNA), testified in support of SJR 19. He said that the control of infections in a hospital environment is a complex, difficult task. SJR 19 would create valuable dialogue between the public, the legislature, and the medical community concerning the way that infection is reported. Hopefully this would lead to useful, collaborative conclusions regarding what the state should be doing to improve things. CHAIR DYSON asked the witness whether his organization had expressed support for the resolution. MR. BETIT answered he is confident that they will support it, but they have not yet had a chance to discuss it. SENATOR OLSON remarked that some of the statistics are startling and asked whether there has been a significant increase in infections in the recent past. MR. BETIT answered there has not been a significant increase in the recent past. The problem has never been addressed in a systemic way and the apparent urgency of the problem is due to the significant increase in effort in the last three years. SENATOR OLSON said most of the hospitals in which he has been granted privilege have had boards to address hospital infections. He asked whether the boards are effectively addressing the problem, and if not, whether their inefficiency is a reason for the resolution. MR. BETIT replied that they are not as effective as one would hope because there are so many different places in a hospital where measures must be implemented and monitored. He said that the establishment of a task force would augment their efficiency by consolidating data and comparing ideas. LORI HERMAN, Providence Hospital, testified in support of SJR 19. 3:09:01 PM JAY BUTLER, Acting Chief, Epidemiology Section, Division of Public Health Department of Health & Social Services, supported SJR 19. CHAIR DYSON asked Senator Elton if he would be comfortable addressing his aforementioned concern in the Senate Finance Committee. SENATOR ELTON replied that he would be comfortable with that. 3:09:30 PM SENATOR ELTON moved SJR 19 and attached fiscal notes from committee with individual recommendations. There being no objection it was so ordered.