Bill > SR190

This Resolution requests the Department of Health (DOH), Hawaii's state health agency, to create guidelines, known as protocols, for hospitals across the state to better care for patients who are thinking about suicide or have attempted suicide. These protocols are to be developed with input from hospitals, including Kahi Mohala, a mental health facility, and should include specific provisions such as providing one-on-one suicide counseling, ensuring 24/7 access to trained suicide counselors, offering counseling in emergency rooms for those contemplating or attempting suicide, prohibiting discharge of homeless patients who are contemplating or have attempted suicide, and preventing the discharge of such patients to correctional facilities if they are not a danger to others. The DOH is also asked to include other measures to ensure these patients are treated with respect and compassion, and to submit a report with these recommended protocols and any proposed legislation to the Legislature by a specific date.