...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY...
* WHAT...East winds 20 to 30 kt.
* WHERE...All surrounding coastal waters.
* WHEN...Until 6 PM HST Thursday.
* IMPACTS...Conditions will be hazardous to small craft.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Inexperienced mariners, especially those operating smaller
vessels, should avoid navigating in these conditions.
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Governor David Ige released almost two million dollars in funding today to address the state's nursing shortage.
HONOLULU (KITV4) – Gov. David Ige released almost $2 million in funding to address the state's nursing shortage. The funds will help the University of Hawaii hire 39 nurse instructor positions across all its campuses.
Experts in this field said this issue is “crippling” in Hawaii.
“Last year, 65% of applications submitted to the UH system for the Registered Nurses program were denied admissions because we didn’t have the education capacity,” said Laura Reichhardt, Director at Hawaii State Center for Nursing.
There are currently 1,000 vacant nursing positions across the state according to the State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. State data shows the demand for more nurses will grow by more than 100 positions each year.
Officials hope these 39 teaching positions will help to instruct 230 nursing students. Right now, there are 770 nursing students enrolled across the UH system. UH President, David Lassner said this will significantly increase the school's capacity by almost double.
“This is a huge boost to our capacity and our ability to serve the state. What’s really important is we're distributing these positions to where they're most needed," said Lassner.
Nineteen nursing instructors will be located throughout UH community colleges with more than $842,000 going there. UH Hilo will receive 12 instructors and roughly $532,000. The remaining eight positions will go to UH Manoa and they will receive around $355,000.
"Without nursing faculty, we cannot train new nurses in our state. It was clear that our remaining faculty was taking on work meant for many more people," said Governor David Ige.
Officials believe the expanded nursing school program will help reverse the issues the pandemic left behind.
