THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	79
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

URGING HAWAII HEALTH SYSTEMS CORPORATION HOSPITALS AND CLINICS TO ACCEPT MEDICAL STUDENT ROTATIONS FROM A.T. STILL UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE BASED OUT OF THE WAIANAE COAST COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH CENTER, THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII JOHN A. BURNS SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, AND OTHER HAWAII-BASED MEDICAL SCHOOLS.

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

     WHEREAS, aside from Oahu, most of the state is federally designated as Medically Underserved Areas, Medically Underserved Populations, or Health Professional Shortage Areas; and

     WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to provide high quality primary care services to already underserved populations with disparate health indicators; and

     WHEREAS, maternal and child health risk, cardiovascular risk, and socio-economic risk are greatest in rural Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, according to the Department of Health's 1999 statistics, the top ten highest risk areas are all located in rural communities; and

     WHEREAS, the need for physicians in rural areas will only increase with the aging population and projected population growth on the neighbor islands; and

     WHEREAS, national studies have demonstrated that substantial residency training in rural areas increases placement and retention of physicians in rural practices; and
     WHEREAS, providing Hawaii's medical students with hospital rotations in the state's rural areas is also of critical importance to promoting the development of "roots" in the communities they may one day serve; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) comprises Hilo Medical Center, Hale Ho‘ola Hamakua, and Ka‘u Hospital (East Hawaii Region); Kona Community Hospital and Kohala Hospital (West Hawaii Region); Maui Memorial Medical Center, Lanai Community Hospital, and Kula Hospital (Maui Region); Leahi Hospital and Maluhia (Oahu Region); Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital and Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital (Kauai Region); Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home – Hilo; Roselani Place – Maui; Ali‘i Health Center - West Hawaii; and affiliate HHSC facility Kahuku Medical Center – Oahu; and

     WHEREAS, HHSC is heavily state subsidized to continue providing medical services throughout the state and in most cases HHSC facilities are the only healthcare facilities in the rural areas of the state; and

     WHEREAS, HHSC's objective to provide health care services to the people of Hawaii is in line with the goals of students in Hawaii-based medical schools; and

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds HHSC is obligated as a state-funded hospital system to provide Hawaii-based medical students with the medical rotations they need in any of the HHSC facilities; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, that HHSC is urged to accept medical student rotations from A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine based out of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, and other Hawaii-based medical schools; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the HHSC and the Hawaii Primary Care Association are requested to work together to develop a plan for placing students from the A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine based out of the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, and other Hawaii-based medical schools in HHSC facilities for medical student rotations; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Health, Chief Executive Officer of Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Dean of John A. Burns School of Medicine, Chief Executive Officer of Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, and the Executive Director of the Hawaii Medical Association.

Report Title: 

Medical Student Rotations; Hawaii Health Systems Corporation.