RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, many graduates of the University of Hawaii School of Public Health programs in maternal and child health, epidemiology, environmental health, nutrition, gerontology, international health, health administration, and community health development and education play vital roles in protecting the health of Hawaii's population and the health of those in our wider Asia Pacific region; and

WHEREAS, in 1999, the University of Hawaii School of Public Health was the first and only school of public health in the history of the United States to lose its accreditation; and

WHEREAS, in 2000, the University of Hawaii School of Public Health was incorporated into the John A. Burns School of Medicine as a department of public health studies and epidemiology; and

WHEREAS, upon closure, the University of Hawaii administration proposed, and the Board of Regents approved, a plan to rebuild the school of public health within five years; and

WHEREAS, the medical school and the department have made various gains toward public health rebuilding since the closure of the school of public health, most significantly in gaining accreditation from the Council on Education in Public Health for a program in public health with two specializations, namely epidemiology and social-behavioral health; and

WHEREAS, the university's most notable step in fulfilling the promise of rebuilding a school of public health within five years since its closure in 2000 is the recent commitment of Chancellor Peter Englert to fast-tracking the re-establishment of a school of global and public health on the Manoa campus; and

WHEREAS, Chancellor Englert has actively sought counsel from a number of public health stakeholders, including national and local public health entities and experts, faculty of the department, the University of Hawaii School of Public Health Alumni Association, the Hawaii Public Health Association, and many others; and

WHEREAS, the Chancellor has also publicly affirmed his commitment by articulating his plans to appoint two advisory committees to guide the planning of a new school:

WHEREAS, after consultation, Chancellor Englert will request approval from the Board of Regents to move public health into "developmental space," similar to the successful process of public-private partnership used to develop the Academy for Creative Media; and

WHEREAS, the speed at which a new, independent school could become a reality is within a year and a half, pending the necessary resources; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Regents approved a $1,000,000 appropriation in the 2004 supplemental budget request to support faculty positions for the new school, but this request was not included in the Governor's budget; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is at a crossroads for emerging public health issues, as there is great potential to sustain a new school now more than ever; and

WHEREAS, the health workforce of Hawaii and the Asia Pacific region was significantly built over decades by the former school of public health, which typically educated hundreds of professionals per year, as the second largest graduate program in the University of Hawaii system; and

WHEREAS, studies have shown that a substantial percentage of that health workforce, especially those in leadership and mid-level management positions, has retired or is on the verge of exiting the workforce to retire; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii may face a health workforce crisis if the training pipeline for health is not reinstated; and

WHEREAS, the potential for obtaining research funds has grown tremendously over the last few years, and a new school would give Hawaii more flexibility to respond to local need such as the ice addiction epidemic, diabetes, and childhood obesity, and outside needs such as bioterrorism, SARS, and other global health challenges; and

WHEREAS, public health can be a research magnet but will forever fall victim to limited funding possibilities as Hawaii will be ineligible to receive federal research money without a fully accredited school of global and public health; and

WHEREAS, other states and universities are assuming the role of public health training and research in Hawaii and the Asia Pacific region because of the absence of a school of public health; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is losing revenue, prestige, and its logical role of educational leadership in the region in the absence of a school of public health in the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the University of Hawaii is urged to speedily rebuild a school of global and public health; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University of Hawaii is urged to join with other institutions and to work cooperatively with the military, the Centers for Disease Control, and others for research dollars and to boost research options and developmental planning; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President and Chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, the Chairperson of the Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology, the Director of Health, Hawaii's congressional delegation, the Director General of the World Health Organization, the Director of the Public Health Practice Program Office of the Centers for Disease Control, and the Presidents of the University of Hawaii Public Health Alumni Association and the Hawaii Public Health Association.

Report Title:

UH; Health