Chapter 544
2004 -- S 2905
SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/09/04
A N A C T
RELATING
TO HEALTH AND SAFETY - STROKE TASK FORCE
Introduced
By: Senators Gallo, Walaska, P Fogarty, Felag, and Sheehan
Date
Introduced: February 11, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "Health and Safety" is
hereby
amended
by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
23-77
THE
STROKE TASK FORCE
23-77-1.
Rhode Island Comprehensive Stroke Prevention and Treatment Act of
2004.
– Purpose and declarations. – (a) The Rhode Island general assembly hereby
finds,
determines,
and declares that stroke is a leading cause of death and permanent, long-term
disability
in Rhode Island and that currently available prevention and treatment
strategies could
reduce
the number of deaths and disabilities caused by strokes.
(b)
The Rhode Island general assembly further finds that the establishment of a
stroke
task
force will ensure that state-of-the-art information on stroke education,
prevention, and
treatment
is available to healthcare providers and patients. This task force will serve
as a
consensus
group designed to coordinate efforts in stroke treatment and prevention,
including
bringing
additional monies to the state to fund improvements.
23-77-2.
Stroke task force -- Membership. – (a) The director of the
department of
health,
with consent of the president of the senate and the speaker of the house, may
appoint a
stroke
task force to serve as a statewide commission designed to coordinate efforts in
stroke
treatment
and prevention. The director may assign staff, upon availability of funds, to
assist the
task
force. Members appointed to the task force may include:
(1)
Four (4) physicians actively involved in stroke care, with at least one (1)
from each of
the
following fields:
(i)
Neurology;
(ii)
Neuroradiology;
(iii)
Neurosurgery; and
(iv)
Emergency care;
(2)
One (1) registered professional nurse or nurse practitioner actively involved
in stroke
care;
(3)
One (1) physician’s assistant actively involved in stroke care;
(4)
One (1) hospital administrator or designee from each hospital that is
designated as a
Comprehensive
Stroke Treatment Center by the National Joint Commission on Accreditation of
Healthcare
Organizations;
(5)
One (1) representative from the EMS Ambulance Service Advisory Board;
(6)
One (1) representative from the public health field actively involved in public
health
education
on stroke appointed by the director;
(7)
One (1) representative from a stroke rehabilitation facility appointed by the
director;
(8)
One (1) stroke survivor or caregiver appointed by the director;
(9)
One (1) representative from the American Stroke Association;
(10)
One (1) representative from Rhode Island Quality Partners or state-recognized
Quality
Improvement Organization (QIO); and
(11)
One (1) representative from a minority health organization involved in stroke
care.
(b)
The task force shall advise the Rhode Island general assembly, the governor,
and
director
of the department of health and have the following duties:
(1)
Undertake a statistical and qualitative examination of the incidence and causes
of
stroke
deaths and risks, including identification of sub-populations at highest risk
for developing
stroke
and develop a profile of the social and economic burden of stroke in Rhode
Island;
(2)
Receive and consider reports and testimony from individuals, state department
of
health,
community-based organizations, voluntary health organizations, healthcare
providers, and
other
public and private organizations statewide and of national significance to
stroke to learn
more
about their contributions to stroke prevention and treatment and their ideas
for the
improvement
of stroke care in Rhode Island;
(3)
Develop methods to publicize the profile of stroke burden and its
preventability in
Rhode
Island;
(4)
Identify research-based strategies that are effective in preventing and
controlling risks
for
stroke based on the science available from the American Stroke Association and
related
organizations;
(5)
Determine the burden that delayed or inappropriate treatment has on the quality
of
patients’
lives and the associated financial burden on them and the state;
(6)
Study the economic impact of early stroke treatment with regard to quality of
care,
reimbursement
issues, and rehabilitation;
(7)
Research and determine what constitutes high quality for stroke and take action
to
ensure
that the public and healthcare providers are sufficiently informed of the most
effective
strategies
for stroke care;
(8)
Evaluate the current system of treatment and develop recommendations to improve
all
aspects
of the stroke chain of survival;
(9)
Research and determine the most appropriate method to collect data which shall
include
a record of the cases of stroke that occur in Rhode Island and such information
concerning
the cases as it shall deem necessary and appropriate in order to conduct
thorough and
complete
epidemiological surveys of stroke and to apply appropriate preventative and
control
measures;
(10)
Identify best practices on stroke care in other states and at the federal level
that will
improve
stroke care in Rhode Island, including the feasibility and proposed structure
of
developing
a stroke network;
(11)
Research and obtain any public or private funding available to improve stroke
prevention
and/or treatment in Rhode Island;
(12)
Complete and maintain a statewide comprehensive stroke prevention and treatment
plan
to the general public, state and local officials, various public and private
organizations and
associations,
business and industries, agencies, potential funders, and other community
resources;
(13)
Develop a registry of all Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Strokes that occur within
the
state
to determine genetic and environmental contributors to strokes; and
(14)
Identify and facilitate specific commitments to help implement the plan and all
task
force
activities.
(c)
The task force shall convene within one hundred and eighty (180) days of
passage and
shall
submit a preliminary report to the department, general assembly and the
governor within
one
(1) year of the first meeting, within two (2) years of the first meeting, and a
final report
within
three (3) years of the first meeting. The reports shall address the plans,
actions, and
resources
needed to achieve its goals and progress in achieving implementation of the
plan to
reduce
the occurrence of and burden from stroke in Rhode Island. The reports shall
include an
accounting
of funds expended, funds received from grants, and anticipated funding needs
and
related
cost savings for full implementation of recommended plans and programs. The
task force
will
continue to submit reports annually thereafter on their progress toward the
implementation of
the
state plan.
(d)
Any health care information requested or obtained by the task force pursuant to
subsections
(b)(9),(b)(13), or otherwise in the performance of its duties, shall be
provided in a
format
that does not contain individually-identifiable information.
SECTION
2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02747/SUB
A
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