Pandemic Darlings The pandemic economy, in original documents
Home Source documents Sponsor Testimony - House Bill 23, Representatives Plummer and West, House Commerce and Labor Committee

Sponsor Testimony - House Bill 23, Representatives Plummer and West, House Commerce and Labor Committee

Summary

Sponsor testimony of Representatives Plummer and West on House Bill 23 to the House Commerce and Labor Committee, addressed to Chair Stein, Vice Chair Johnson and Ranking Member Lepore-Hagan. The testimony says HB 23 would require police officers and emergency medical service personnel to undergo training on identifying and interacting with individuals with dementia, with at least two hours of instruction during basic training and at least one hour for continuing professional training. It says the Attorney General would consult with the Department of Aging to develop rules. It cites the Alzheimer's Association of Ohio for about 220,000 Ohioans living with Alzheimer's or other dementias, and says the House passed identical legislation by a vote of 82-0 last GA.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Sponsor Testimony - House Bill 23, Representatives Plummer and West, House Commerce and Labor Committee.” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2021-02-10-commerce-labor-testimony-testimony-559-89ea68ca1b/, SHA-256 a60bb5944af445dd845f4bb345f6059809683e6e4a756615d45ba42e19a5b565.

Full text

           Representatives Plummer and West
            Sponsor Testimony, House Bill 23
          House Commerce and Labor Committee

Chair Stein, Vice Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-
Hagan, and members of the House Commerce and Labor
Committee, thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide
sponsor testimony on House Bill 23.

HB 23 would require police officers and emergency medical
service personnel to undergo training on identifying and
interacting with individuals with dementia. Training for both
professions would be comprised of at least two hours of
instruction during basic training programs and at least one hour
for continuing professional training.

Under the bill, the Attorney General would consult with the
Department of Aging to develop rules governing this training,
and the training would be required to cover the following seven
areas: identifying individuals with dementia, techniques for
respectful communication with such individuals, techniques for
addressing behavioral symptoms, identifying and reporting
abuse or neglect, protocols for contacting caregivers when an
individual is found wandering or in an emergency, local
resources available for these individuals, and local or national
organizations that can help police or EMS in these situations.

It is no secret that Ohio and the nation are in the midst of a
significant demographic shift. A May 2019 cleveland.com
analysis of Census Bureau data projects this year’s census will
show that Ohioans 60 and older outnumber those 20 and
younger. According to the Alzheimer’s Association of Ohio,
about 220,000 Ohioans live with Alzheimer’s or other dementias
– a number that’s expected to grow 20% by 2030 as our
population ages. What’s more, 50% of individuals with
dementia live at home without family or a caregiver, and 60%
are prone to wandering.

In light of these trends, the COVID-19 pandemic has made
matters even more difficult for Ohioans with dementia,
particularly for those living without family or a caregiver. There
has never been a more important time for police and first
responders to receive this training than during this crisis. The
stakes are too high for our loved ones who suffer from this
disease, especially those who live without family or a caregiver.

South Carolina, Indiana, Oklahoma and Florida have enacted
similar legislation in the past decade, and the House passed
identical legislation by a vote of 82-0 last GA. We are hopeful
that with your support, we can get the bill to the Governor’s
desk this year.

Chair Stein, Vice Chair Johnson, Ranking Member Lepore-
Hagan and members of the committee, thank you again for this
opportunity. After Rep Plummer’s remarks, we will be happy to
answer any questions.

File and source

File
2021-02-10_commerce-labor_testimony_testimony-559.pdf
Size
301,481 bytes
SHA-256
a60bb5944af445dd845f4bb345f6059809683e6e4a756615d45ba42e19a5b565
Our copy
2021-02-10_commerce-labor_testimony_testimony-559.pdf
Original
No public link identified.
Back to top