Bill > SCR35

This Concurrent Resolution urges the University of Hawaii - West Oahu to address the state's nursing shortage by either re-establishing a pre-nursing pathway or creating a permanent nursing program for its students. The resolution highlights that a previous program, Ike Mauli Ola, which allowed students to complete prerequisite nursing courses at UH West Oahu and then apply to the nursing program at UH Hilo, was canceled in 2017, leaving students in central and west Oahu without a local option. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the critical need for nurses, and the resolution suggests that reinstating such a pathway could have provided more nurses during the crisis. Therefore, the University of Hawaii - West Oahu is requested to collaborate with either UH Hilo or UH Manoa to offer a similar program or to independently develop a lasting nursing program.