Hundreds focus on improving Hawaiʻi’s health workforce

The University of Hawaiʻi and experts from leading healthcare professions provided key insight to hundreds of stakeholders interested in helping to prioritize potential solutions to the state’s health workforce challenges at a recent informational briefing with legislators.

The “Hawaiʻi’s Health Workforce Development for the 21st Century,” briefing was co-chaired by Sen. Rosalyn Baker, chair of the State Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health, and Rep. John Mizuno, chair of the State House of Representatives’ Committee on Health, and featured 21 speakers, including local and national experts and important state stakeholders. With the support of UH’s UHealthy Hawaiʻi initiative, the goal of the briefing was to ensure robust community engagement in prioritizing potential cross-sector solutions to Hawaiʻi’s health workforce challenges.

The UHealthy Hawaiʻi initiative, which aims to leverage the UH System to improve health and healthcare in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific, has focused its early efforts on optimizing Hawaiʻi’s health workforce.

“We appreciate the support of Chairs Baker and Mizuno in examining the best possible solutions to health workforce challenges in Hawaiʻi,” said UH President David Lassner. “As the state’s sole public higher education institution, we are eager to build on our strong health sciences program to address Hawaiʻi’s health workforce needs.”