2009 Testimony to State Legislature

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The Honorable Donna Mercado Kim, Chair The Honorable Marcus R. Oshiro, Chair Page 3 January 13,2009 HEALTH CARE We also continue to be deeply concerned about the status of healthcare on the Big island and the shortage of physicians. The Legislature wisely appropriated funding in Act 277 in 2007,joining in a partnership with HMSA Foundation and the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare to fund a residency program on the Big Island to encourage physicians to take up practice here. As you know, funding for the residency program was never released by the administration,but the worsening physician shortage cannot wait. We ask that the Legislature renew the appropriations in Act 277 to finance the expansion of the family medicine residency program of the John A. Burns School of Medicine to provide rural primary health care services, and give the badly needed Big Island residency program another chance. Kona Community Hospital Emergency Room, $10 million (Hawaii Health Systems Corporation) The Kona Community Hospital Emergency Room was built to accommodate 10,000 patient visits per year, and is now seeing 18,500 visits per year. The emergency department needs to be expanded and modernized to improve patient access, flow and privacy to provide for a better working environment for staff, and the county would like to support HHSC's request for this essential improvement. Hilo Medical Center Cardiovascular Laboratory,$9.5 million (Hawaii Health Systems Corporation) This facility is needed to help with the recruitment of cardiologists and other specialists to care for a growing population, and is also an important investment to help make the state hospital system more self-sufficient. East Hawai'i has very high rates of diabetes and obesity, conditions that are linked to heart disease,but has only three cardiologists available to serve a growing population. One of those three physicians is about to retire,which will make the shortage more acute. Building a cardiovascular laboratory will help attract the needed specialists and deliver critically needed health care services, and it will also help with HHSC's bottom line.Nationally, cardiovascular services account for about 25 percent of most hospitals' income,but account for far less at Hilo Medical Center because the hospital does not have the facilities necessary to provide these specialized services. HIGHER EDUCATION Our proposals this year stress higher education projects as part of a strategy to develop university and community college infrastructure to help our campuses to grow and train our residents to fill the jobs of the future. As an important part of this effort,we ask that the Legislature this year support state plans for the long-awaited permanent community college site in West Hawai'i. College of Pharmacy Modules,$4 million Additional funding is needed to construct modules to house classrooms, teaching labs and related workspace for the college under construction in the University of Hawaii at Hilo Research Park. The additional space will help the college meet the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. The Legislature has already provided$6 million for this project, and the additional money is needed to meet additional space requirements. County of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.