Proposed UH Maui College four-year nursing program moves ahead in state Senate

A measure aimed at addressing a shortage of nurses on Maui by establishing a four-year nursing Bachelor of Science degree program at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College has passed second reading on the Senate floor. Now, it’s headed to the influential Ways and Means Committee for decision-making on funding.

According to a Committee on Higher Education report, the bill’s appropriation has been changed to an unspecified amount. However, committee Chair Donna Mercado Kim recommended budgeting funding as follows:

• $100,000 for fiscal year 2025-2026 and $60,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 to meet the increased demand for prerequisite courses by students newly enrolled in the program.
• $90,000 for fiscal year 2025-2026 and $60,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 for additional personnel associated with the establishment of the program.
• $60,000 for fiscal years 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, respectively, for supplies, equipment, and simulation and laboratory upgrades associated with the establishment of the program.
• $250,000 for fiscal year 2026-2027 for instructional costs associated with providing a third year of nursing courses following the establishment of the program.

The committee report notes that support for the four-year nursing program came from the University of Hawaiʻi System, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaiʻi Public Health Association, Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, Hawaiʻi State Center for Nursing, Healthcare Association of Hawaii and six individuals.

Nursing student Cheryl Keyhani, a Native Hawaiian with multiple generations of my family residing on Maui, said she was deeply impacted by the August 2023 wildfires and has seen “firsthand, the immense importance of supporting our community through education, healthcare, and local opportunities.”

Set to graduate in May 2025, Keyhani said she’s “excited to move forward in my nursing career, (but) I have encountered challenges along the way — one of the most significant being the financial strain of taking online classes off-island.”

“Because I am not a local resident of the state where I take classes, I do not qualify for the same financial assistance that students from that state do,” she said. “This situation only further highlights the need for accessible, local educational opportunities that benefit not just students, but also the broader community. Having a BSN program at UHMC would directly address this need.”

To read more public testimony on the bill, click here.

The committee’s findings say that meeting the growing demand for skilled nursing professionals is critical to addressing health care shortages and ensuring the well-being of the state’s communities. It also determined that expanding nursing education programs of the University of Hawaiʻi System is essential to developing a robust workforce capable of meeting the needs of an aging population, addressing health care disparities in underserved areas, and responding to future public health challenges.

“This measure invests in the establishment of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College to help increase the supply of nurse graduates, reduce the nursing workforce shortage, and allow Maui nursing students to remain on Maui during their entire course of study,” the report says.

Last fall, the island’s shortage of qualified nurses was at the root of staffing disputes between the unions representing nurses and other medical professionals at Maui Health, which operates Maui Memorial Medical Center and other facilities in Maui County.

Eventually, Maui Health concluded negotiations with about 930 employees, agreeing to 21% pay raises and safe staffing plans. In November, the Maui nurses walked out for three days to demonstrate their resolve in contract negotiations. More than 90% of union members approved of the new agreement.

Currently, UH Maui College’s nursing program offers a certificate of achievement and an associate in science nursing, but not four-year degrees. Those must be obtained at the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, or some other college or university.

According to research conducted on the state’s nursing workforce by the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing, survey responses from Maui nurses in 2023 were as follows:

• The statewide registered nurse workforce was 16,390, with 10% on Maui.
• 54% of registered nurses working on Maui were educated in the state. There is demand for Bachelor of Science in nursing education on Maui.
• Statewide, 76% of registered nurses hold a Bachelor of Science or graduate degrees in nursing vs. 59% in Maui County.
• Maui County registered nurses are proportionally slightly more likely than RNs statewide to be enrolled in a degree-leading nurse education program (Statewide: 6%; Maui: 8%).
• Among RNs in Maui County who are enrolled in a degree-leading program, 45% are enrolled in a Bachelor of Science program; 80% of all Maui County RNs enrolled in a nursing degree program are enrolled in an out-of-state school, according to unpublished data from the 2023 Hawaiʻi Nursing Workforce Supply Survey.

On a question about workforce development in Hawaiʻi, a winter 2023 Pacific Resource Partnership poll found that 40% of respondents said that “training our young people for jobs of the future” has gotten worse; another 38% said it’s stayed the same; and 21% told researchers it’s either gotten better, or they don’t know. Regarding the affordability of a college or university degree, 53% said it’s gotten worse; 31% reported it’s stayed the same; and 16% said it’s gotten better, or they don’t know.

Introducing Senate Bill 119 were Sens. Troy Hashimoto (Wailuku, Kahului, Waiheʻe, Waikapū Mauka and Wai‘ehu);  Lynn DeCoite (Hāna, East and Upcountry Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe and Molokini); Angus McKelvey (West and South Maui, Māʻalaea and Waikapū); Donna Mercado Kim (Kapālama, ʻĀlewa, Kalihi, Kalihi Valley, Ft. Shafter, Moanalua Gardens & Valley, Red Hill); and Republican Kurt Fevella (‘Ewa Beach, Ocean Pointe, ‘Ewa by Gentry, Iroquois Point and portion of ʻEwa Villages).

The Senate Ways and Means Committee is chaired by Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz of Central Oʻahu and vice chaired by Sen. Sharon Moriwaki of urban Honolulu.

To submit written testimony on Senate Bill 119 Senate Draft 1, click here. The full text of the bill is here.