HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	123
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE CONVENING OF A WORKING GROUP TO DETERMINE THE GAPS IN ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE AND THE SCOPE OF CARE OF ADVANCED PRACTICE REGISTERED NURSES.

 

 

 

        WHEREAS, Hawaii's health care system is in crisis due to the severe shortage of physicians in the State; and

 

        WHEREAS, according to the Hawai   i Physician Workforce Assessment Project study conducted in 2020 by the Area Health Education Center of Hawaii at the University of Hawaii, the gap between supply and demand for doctors in Hawaii has grown by sixty   five percent since 2010; and

 

WHEREAS, the biennial Hawai   i Physician Workforce Assessment Project study also reported a current shortage of eight hundred twenty physicians statewide, with the neighbor islands hardest affected; and

 

WHEREAS, there is a physician shortfall of sixteen percent on Oahu, compared to a forty   four percent shortfall for the island of Hawaii, thirty   six percent for Maui County, and thirty-two percent for the island of Kauai; and

 

WHEREAS, advanced practice registered nurses may assist in increasing the supply of health care providers, especially for the neighbor islands and rural areas in the State; and

 

WHEREAS, studies show that advanced practice registered nurses are competent and able to perform many health care procedures that physicians perform; and

 

WHEREAS, it is appropriate and necessary for the State to determine the scope of care that advanced practice registered nurses may perform or provide; now, therefore,

        BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Nursing and Hawaii Medical Board are requested to convene a working group to determine the gaps in access to health care and the scope of care that advanced practice registered nurses may be allowed to perform or provide; and

 

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task of the working group is requested to include:

 

        (1)   The gaps and limitations that exist in providing access to health care, especially on the neighbor islands and in rural communities;

 

        (2)   The scope of procedures and care that advanced practice registered nurses should be allowed to provide;

 

        (3)   A comparative study of the scope of practice of advanced practice registered nurses in other states and Hawaii; and

 

        (4)   An evaluation of how advanced practice registered nurses would increase equitable access to health care on the neighbor islands and in rural areas in the State; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to comprise the following members, or their designees:

 

        (1)   The Chairperson of the Board of Nursing, who is requested to serve as a co   chair of the working group;

 

        (2)   The Chairperson of the Hawaii Medical Board, who is requested to serve as a co   chair of the working group;

 

        (3)   The Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine;

 

        (4)   The Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene;

        (5)   The Director of Health;

 

        (6)   The Director of the Hawai   i State Center for Nursing;

 

        (7)   The President of the Hawai   i Psychological Association;

 

        (8)   The President of the Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses;

 

        (9)   One member to be designated by the Senate President; and

 

      (10)   One member to be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2022; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the working group is requested to dissolve on June 30, 2022; and

 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa John A. Burns School of Medicine, Dean of the University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, Director of Health, Chairperson of the Board of Nursing, Chairperson of the Hawaii Medical Board, Director of the Hawaii State Center for Nursing, President of the Hawaii Psychological Association, and President of the Hawaii Association of Professional Nurses.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:  

Working Group; Advanced Practice Registered Nurses; Scope of Care; Board of Nursing; Hawaii Medical Board