SCR158 SD1.DOC

WHEREAS, a severe shortage of primary health care providers currently exists, particularly in the rural and medically underserved areas of the State; and

WHEREAS, in order to address Hawaii's health care crisis and ensure that people living in the rural and medically underserved areas receive quality health care services, a plan needs to be developed and implemented to recruit qualified primary health care providers; and

WHEREAS, family physicians are well-suited to rural health care due to the broad scope of their practice, which encompasses inpatient, outpatient, and nursing home settings, and addresses acute, chronic, and preventive health across the life cycle; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine currently offers a three-year residency program in family medicine; and

WHEREAS, the mission of the family medicine residency program is to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved areas and populations in Hawaii in a culturally sensitive and medically appropriate manner; and

WHEREAS, family medicine program residents provide not only health care but also education and outreach at schools and community events; and

WHEREAS, presently, family medicine program residents spend two months in a federally-funded rural health care training demonstration project, initiated in Hilo in 2006, in which residents learn how to provide health care to medically underserved patients in rural areas as they rotate among private physician offices, emergency departments, and the community, providing outreach and education; and

WHEREAS, on July 10, 2007, Act 277 (H.B. No. 1477 H.D. 2, S.D. 2, C.D. 1) was enacted into law without the Governor's signature; and

WHEREAS, Act 277 (2007), appropriated funds to:

(1) Develop a statewide rural primary health care training program; and

(2) Support the family medicine residency program of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine's Department of Family Medicine and Community Health; and

WHEREAS, even though Act 277 (2007) was enacted into law, the Governor has refused to release the funds to implement the program; and

WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, has established the Hilo Rural Residency Program, an initial effort to align primary care workforce development with the needs of the State of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the goal of the Hilo Rural Residency Program is to develop and staff a Family Medicine Center that will become an accredited Family Medicine Residency with eighteen residents (six per year); and

WHEREAS, the Family Medicine Center will serve as an interdisciplinary clinical training site for medical students, residents, nurse practitioner students, nursing students, pharmacy students and others; and

WHEREAS, a legislative interim task force should be convened in order to effectively address Hawaii's health care crisis in the rural and medically underserved areas of the State; and

WHEREAS, in identifying and developing a primary health care training and recruiting plan for rural and medically underserved areas of the State, the task force should use Act 277 (2007) and the Hilo Rural Residency Program as guidelines in developing a model for the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Senate Committee on Health and the House Committee on Health convene a legislative interim task force to identify and develop a Hawaii island model for a primary health care training and recruiting plan for rural and medically underserved areas of the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan shall address both short-term and long-term goals to ensure that rural and medically underserved areas of the State have access to qualified health care providers; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are requested to appoint the chair of the Senate Committee on Health and the chair of the House Committee on Health, who shall co-chair the task force, and at a minimum, each of the Senators and Representatives from the island of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the following officials are requested to serve as ex-officio members of the task force: the Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Primary Care Association or the Chief Executive Officer's designee; the Site Director of the Hilo Rural Residency Program; the Director of the Bay Clinic, Inc.; the Director of Health or the Director's designee; and the Director of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine or the Director's designee; a representative of the Hawaii Medical Association; a representative of Hawaii Medical Services Association; a representative of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; a representative of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and a representative of the Hawaii Academy of Family Physicians; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report to the Legislature, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, the Chair of the House Committee on Health, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Primary Care Association, the Site Director of the Hilo Rural Residency Program, the Director of the Bay Clinic, Inc., the Director of Health, the Director of the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, the Hawaii Medical Association, Hawaii Medical Services Association, the Hawaii Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Hawaii Academy of Family Physicians.

Report Title:

Legislative Interim Task Force; Rural Health Care; Recruiting

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	158
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII