Gov. Josh Green proclaims National Nurse Practitioner Week in Hawai‘i

Gov. Josh Green recently welcomed nursing leaders from across the islands and signed a proclamation officially recognizing National Nurse Practitioner Week in Hawai‘i. The declaration highlights the vital role of NPs in improving health care access for residents statewide.

Access to quality health care continues to be a major challenge in Hawai‘i, driven in part by a shortage of health care providers. This issue is especially difficult for patients with Medicare and Medicaid, who often struggle to find providers accepting their insurance and are among the state’s most vulnerable populations. According to the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 74% of NPs nationwide treat Medicare patients and 80% see Medicaid patients—making them a critical part of the solution.

In Hawai‘i, there are 1,340 NPs currently serving patients statewide, providing preventive care, checkups and management of acute and chronic conditions, according to the Hawai‘i State Center for Nursing.

“I enjoy being an NP because I can directly help improve health care access with my advanced degree,” said Miki Miura, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, Hawai‘i State Liaison for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. “I’ve been working at a community health center on O‘ahu for the last 10 years and feel very fortunate to help patients regardless of their financial or social status. By providing patients the opportunity to be seen sooner, we can prevent diseases from progressing and ensure proper treatment starts earlier.”

National NP Week is observed annually during the second week of November to raise
awareness of the NP role and honor the exceptional care NPs provide.