Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Rural Residency Planning and Development Program - Address: 98-1005 Moanalua Road, Suite 3030, Aiea, HI 96701 Project Director: Allen L. Hixon, MD Contact Number: 808-835-6476 Email: hixon@hawaii.edu Budget Request: $748,239 Developing a Family Medicine Rural Residency Program for the Island of Kaua‘i The Hawaiian Islands are considered the most geographically remote archipelago and population center on earth. Over 2,400 miles from the west coast of the U.S. continent, Hawai‘i is a socially and culturally complex frontier state. With a state population of 1.4 million, nearly 1 million reside on O‘ahu where the major hospitals and health services are located. The state of Hawai‘i has an extreme primary care workforce shortage and geographic maldistribution of physicians across the islands. Kaua‘i, 90 miles to the northwest of O‘ahu, with a population of approximately 73,000 people has federal rural designations and suffers from a limited heath workforce. This proposal is to address the rural primary care workforce shortage in Hawai‘i, through the development of a new ACGME accredited Family Medicine Rural Residency Program serving the island of Kaua‘i. The major goals of this three-year project are to: 1. DEVELOP AN ACGME ACCREDITED RURAL PRIMARY CARE TRAINING SITE ON KAUA‘I 2. CREATE A PRIMARY CARE WORKFORCE PATHWAY RESPONSIVE TO UNDERSERVED MULTICULTURAL/MULTILINGUAL RURAL ISLAND COMMUNITIES 3. SUSTAIN RURAL GME THROUGH NEW CMS FUNDING 4. INNOVATE CURRICULUM AND COMMUNITY RESPONSIVE CARE This program will focus on creating family physicians to serve this extreme multicultural population that includes Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islanders, and people of other Asian and mixed heritage. The residency would be part of the the University of Hawai‘i, John A. Burns School of Medicine in partnership with the Hawai‘i Pacific Health System hospitals. The program is conceived as a collaboration between the existing GME enterprise of the University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine, and the Hawai‘i Pacific Health System (HPH). The program would be developed in a 1:2 format in partnership with a longstanding Family Medicine Residency Program on Oahu, accredited by the ACGME, and sustained through standard CMS GME funding mechanisms. The program would be anchored by two HPH hospitals, Pali Momi Medical Center on O‘ahu, and the Wilcox Medical Center - the major community hospital on Kaua’i. Two critical access hospitals and the Department of Health on Kaua‘i are also key partners. Greater than 50% of the training will occur at the Kaua’i rural site. Four residents per year, would benefit from the clinical learning environments on O‘ahu in the PGY1 year. The PGY2/PGY3 years of training would be community focused and physically located at the rural Kaua‘i site. The new rural program will offer innovative curriculum growing from the needs of the community. Collaborating with the Kaua‘i District Health Office, a robust community health curriculum will focus on specific population based needs of this multicultural/multilingual community. The Critical Access Hospitals and the Psychiatric facility on Kaua‘i will be key contributors to the curriculum. Elements of emergency response and disaster management will be incorporated preparing Family Medicine residents for a future of rural practice. This program will be sustained through standard CMS GME funding through the key participating hospitals. In addition, the University of Hawai‘i will contribute to teaching faculty salaries, faculty appointments, faculty development and GME accreditation support. The participating hospitals will similarly contribute by supplying the clinical learning environment at their facilities, faculty support, and infrastructure. Note: The University of Hawai‘i, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health has a sub- award from UCSF for the Hawai‘i AIDS Education and Training Center. The Department is not currently a recipient of other external HRSA funding.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).