Governor Pence Signs Agenda Bill Providing Civil Immunity to Volunteer Healthcare Professional Serving Hoosiers in Need

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you Jay Height for that introduction and good morning to all of you gathered here today. It is a pleasure to join you as I sign into law one of my agenda bills--HEA 1145--which provides civil immunity to licensed medical professionals who volunteer their services at no cost to taxpayers or those being served.

Since day one, my administration has been focused on a few very specific goals--one of which is to improve the health and well-being of Hoosiers across our state.

We all know the spirit of Hoosiers -- kind, decent, generous, selfless. Those in our healthcare community embody this spirit each and every day, but before this legislation, it was difficult for them to volunteer their time. The law restricted licensed medical professionals from volunteering their services unless they purchased medical malpractice insurance. And many times our underserved members of the community feel that their only option is an expensive emergency room visit.

This legislation offers a much-needed change.

Because of this bill, Hoosier healthcare professionals can feel comfortable, confident and encouraged volunteering their expertise to administer services to under-served members of our community at facilities just like Shepherd Community Center. And Hoosiers in need may visit one of these facilities or a local food pantry and, while there, receive a check-up or advice from a professional at absolutely no charge to them or to taxpayers.

This legislation also requires the Indiana professional licensing agency to establish and maintain a health care volunteer registry and allows the health care volunteers to provide recommendations for testing, allowing for an even higher quality of care.

I'd like to take a moment today to thank a man in our midst who supported this legislation from the start. That person is none other than the man who introduced me today--Reverend Jay Height, the Executive Director of Shepherd Community, which serves nearly 5,000 Hoosiers per year. Since its founding in 1985, Shepherd has demonstrated its intense commitment to breaking the cycling of poverty here in Indiana, and HEA 1145 will be another tool in their toolbox as they work to bring this goal to reality. Let's give them a round of applause.

And of course this bill wouldn't have made it to my desk without the leadership of members of the Indiana General Assembly, namely bill author Representative David Frizzell; co-authors Representatives Dennis Zent, Thomas Washburne, Todd Huston, Vernon Smith, Eric Allan Koch, B. Patrick Bauer, Gregory Steurwald, and Doug Miller; sponsors Senators Patricia Miller, Jeff Raatz, and Pete Miller; and co-sponsors Senators Jon Ford and Lonnie Randolph.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?'"

This legislation is all about allowing for more service and more compassionate care for the vulnerable in our community, and I could not be more pleased to sign it into law today.

Thank you.

Source