Bill Text: HI HR91 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: University Hospital; West Hawaii

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-29 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on HED/FIN as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Har, Ing, Kong, Luke, Saiki, Thielen, Tokioka excused (7). [HR91 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2016-HR91-Introduced.html

---

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	91
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Requesting the john a. burns school of medicine at the university of hawaii at manoa to conduct a feasibility study for a university hospital in west hawaii.

 

 

 

WHEREAS, our country's existing teaching hospitals train tens of thousands of new doctors, dentists, and nurses each year; and

 

WHEREAS, there are over 400 teaching hospitals and health systems in the Association of American Medical Colleges; and

 

WHEREAS, teaching hospitals exist in more than 40 states across the United States and in Washington, D.C.; and

 

WHEREAS, teaching hospitals present a valuable opportunity to train and empower future generations of medical professionals while providing high-quality care to our patients and extended communities; and

 

WHEREAS, teaching hospitals across the nation have also benefitted their communities by offering premium intensive and specialized services, extending a safety net to the medically underserved, and serving as a hub for cutting-edge research and innovation; and

 

     WHEREAS, America's medical schools and teaching hospitals pioneered many of the nation's key advances, including the first live polio vaccine, the first successful pancreas transplant, the first successful bone marrow transplant, the first intensive care unit for newborns, the first human gene therapy for cystic fibrosis, and the first adult human heart transplant in the United States; and

 

WHEREAS, our country faces a growing shortage of physicians, with an anticipated shortage of 46,000 to 90,000 physicians in all specialties by 2025; and

WHEREAS, it has been shown both in the State of Hawaii and elsewhere that physicians who are trained in a particular location tend to stay, live, and practice in that location; and

 

WHEREAS, there is a need for expanded and improved health care services across the entire state; and

 

WHEREAS, the need for increased, enhanced capacity of mental health resources is evidenced by the Department of Health's call for a new Hawaii state hospital, which is estimated to cost $160,000,000; and

 

WHEREAS, according to the 2013 State of Hawaii Community Health Needs Assessment, limited access to health care is the top issue facing Hawaii Island; and

 

WHEREAS, the accelerated and shifting economic and population growth in West Hawaii has created a regional urban core inconveniently far from Kona Community Hospital, with a population too large to be accommodated by the facility's 94-bed capacity; and

 

WHEREAS, Kona Community Hospital has become financially unsustainable as of late, recently closing its skilled nursing unit and eliminating 34 positions; and

 

WHEREAS, a boost in international air traffic and tourism to West Hawaii is expected as the state's Congressional delegation is working to bring commercial international air service back to Kona International Airport; and

 

WHEREAS, the creation of a new hospital central to the population core of Hawaii Island and in close proximity to the Kona International Airport would benefit both resident and visiting patients and doctors alike; and

 

WHEREAS, improving the quality of care in West Hawaii and relocating the hospital nearer to the visitor-dense epicenter of Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island will enable many patients to receive necessary care without having to be flown to Oahu at great expense, as is currently needed for many cases; and

WHEREAS, there appears to be state land available to devote to a new teaching hospital near the airport in West Hawaii, which is adjacent to the new Palamanui campus; and

 

WHEREAS, such land can support accommodations both for visiting patients and a burgeoning health workforce; and

 

WHEREAS, the cost of living and availability of affordable housing on Hawaii Island relative to that of Oahu will make it more likely that well-qualified resident physicians will come, train, and stay on Hawaii Island; and

 

WHEREAS, The Queen's Health Systems is now operating the North Hawaii Community Hospital on Hawaii Island and has indicated interest in becoming involved with the remaining health care facilities on Hawaii Island; and

 

WHEREAS, The Queen's Health Systems is supportive of the concept of a university hospital on Hawaii Island and has requested that a feasibility study be done in regard to this proposed hospital; and

 

WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii is already exploring the viability of public-private partnerships for our health care facilities through Act 103, Session Laws of Hawaii 2015, and the collaboration between the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation's Maui Regional System and Kaiser Permanente; and

 

WHEREAS, it is envisioned that a substantial portion of the funding for the university hospital will be solicited from the Hawaii Island community; and

 

WHEREAS, the so-called Gold Coast of leeward Kona and Kohala is home to a number of extremely wealthy individuals who have expressed concerns about the level of health care on Hawaii Island; and

 

WHEREAS, these wealthy individuals may support a new university hospital in close proximity to their Hawaii Island residences; and

     WHEREAS, a university hospital could provide valuable resources and opportunities to promptly address the unique health needs of the state, such as the health effects of vog and the current outbreak of dengue on Hawaii Island; and

 

WHEREAS, a university-affiliated teaching hospital has the potential to cultivate much-needed services for the state, including residency training in primary care and psychiatry as well as veterans' services; and

 

WHEREAS, the state could benefit from a thorough analysis of the feasibility of a university hospital in Hawaii, including an examination of physician supply and demand, statewide patient needs, accredited educational models, the readiness and capability of various stakeholders, the resources and revenues needed for planning, design, and construction, and realistic timelines for development; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, that the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii is requested to conduct a feasibility study for a university hospital in West Hawaii; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the University of Hawaii Board of Regents, President of the University of Hawaii, and Dean of the John A. Burns School of Medicine.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

University Hospital; West Hawaii