Hawaii Healthcare Workforce Advisory Board

The Hawaii Healthcare Workforce Advisory Board advises the Department of Health on strategies to address chronic shortages of healthcare workers across the state, including physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and behavioral health workers. It examines recruitment and retention challenges, educational pipeline capacity, scope-of-practice regulations, and loan repayment incentives. Hawaii's geographic isolation and high cost of living make healthcare workforce recruitment particularly challenging.

Healthcare worker shortages affect wait times, access to specialists, and the quality of care available to Hawaii residents, especially on neighbor islands. Patients, healthcare workers, and employers all have a stake in the board's recommendations for improving workforce supply.