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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
AMENDED--NOT PRINTED IN THE HOUSE
Amt. No.1(Doc. Path council\gjk\20754sd08)
June 4, 2008
H. 4899
Introduced by Reps. Edge, Ott, Crawford, Whipper, Huggins, Alexander, Anthony, Bales, Barfield, Battle, Bedingfield, Brady, Branham, Cato, Clemmons, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Coleman, Cooper, Cotty, Davenport, Duncan, Erickson, Funderburk, Gambrell, Govan, Gullick, Hardwick, Hayes, Hosey, Jennings, Leach, Limehouse, Mack, Mahaffey, McLeod, Moss, Mulvaney, J.H. Neal, Parks, Perry, Pinson, M.A. Pitts, Rice, Sandifer, Scott, Sellers, Shoopman, Simrill, G.M. Smith, G.R. Smith, W.D. Smith, Stavrinakis, Talley, Taylor, Thompson, Viers, White, Witherspoon and Mitchell
S. Printed 5/15/08--S.
Read the first time April 3, 2008.
TO CREATE A COMMITTEE TO EXAMINE THE DELIVERY OF BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES IN SOUTH CAROLINA, AND TO REPORT ITS FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY JANUARY 1, 2009.
Amend Title To Conform
Whereas, the behavioral health care system in South Carolina is in crisis; and
Whereas, already overcrowded hospital emergency rooms have become the "safety net" or "provider of last resort"; and
Whereas, most hospital emergency departments are not equipped to provide psychiatric services, especially in rural areas of the State; and
Whereas, the number of inpatient psychiatric beds in state mental health facilities has been drastically reduced, so behavioral health patients wait in emergency departments until a psychiatric bed somewhere in the State becomes available; and
Whereas, behavioral health patients held in the emergency departments stretch the resources of the hospital, reduce access to care for patients with medical emergencies, and create a dangerous environment for other patients and hospital workers if they become unruly and violent; and
Whereas, the delivery of services that are available to behavioral health patients is fractured and disjointed; and
Whereas, many behavioral health patients in South Carolina have no place to go for the level of care they need, and it is nearly impossible for many people to find the emergency psychiatric treatment they or their loved ones need. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) A study committee is established to examine the delivery of behavioral health care services in South Carolina.
(B) The study committee is composed of ten members five of whom must be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, who may be members of the Senate, and five of whom must be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who may be members of the House.
(C) The members of the study committee first shall meet upon the call of the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. At its first meeting, the committee shall select a chairman and such other officers, as it considers necessary. Members of the committee shall receive mileage, subsistence, and per diem allowed by law to members of the General Assembly or to nonmembers when attending meetings of the committee to be paid from the approved accounts of the house from which their appointment came.
(D) Staff from the Senate and the House of Representatives shall assist the study committee. The study committee may utilize the expertise of staff from state agencies to assist in the examination of the delivery of behavioral health care services in South Carolina.
(E) The committee shall make a report to the General Assembly together with its findings and recommendations no later than February 15, 2010, at which time it is dissolved.
SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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