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THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

  URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO FOSTER AN IMPROVED
    PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII SCHOOL OF PUBLIC
    HEALTH.



 1        WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Health is to
 2   provide leadership to monitor, promote, protect, and enhance
 3   the health and environmental well-being of all of Hawaii's
 4   people; and 
 5   
 6        WHEREAS, the mission of the University of Hawaii School of
 7   Public Health is to promote public health practice and advance
 8   public health knowledge in the profession's on-going efforts to
 9   improve the health and well-being of society as a whole; and 
10   
11        WHEREAS, both the Department of Health and the School of
12   Public Health share the common mission of fostering the health
13   of the population of the State of Hawaii; and 
14   
15        WHEREAS, for nearly 40 years, the School of Public Health
16   and the Department of Health have collaborated on the
17   assessment of needs, development of programs, and evaluation of
18   efficacy of those programs, as well as on research and the
19   training of public health professionals in and from Hawaii; and
20   
21        WHEREAS, the Department of Health has provided lectures
22   and needed technical expertise at the School of Public Health
23   as well as field practicum sites to students; and 
24   
25        WHEREAS, the budget restrictions of the past few years
26   have reduced the extent of collaboration between the
27   Department of Health and the School of Public Health and has
28   reduced joint activities to their lowest point in over a
29   decade; and 
30   
31        WHEREAS, a stronger collaborative and cooperative
32   relationship between the Department of Health and the School of
33   Public Health affords an opportunity to benefit both
34   organizations; and  
35   

 
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                                  S.C.R. NO.            S.D. 1
                                                        H.D. 1
                                                        

 
 1        WHEREAS, the Department of Health would be provided with
 2   access to the highly skilled faculty and over 150 graduate
 3   students with extensive experience and varied disciplinary
 4   degrees to consult and serve in the programs and research of
 5   the department and to provide a broader knowledge base for its
 6   efforts as well as a potential labor force of some consequence;
 7   and 
 8   
 9        WHEREAS, the School of Public Health would be provided
10   with professionally qualified public health personnel to
11   augment its teaching and research efforts, and enhance the
12   public health practice aspect of the curriculum of the School;
13   and 
14   
15        WHEREAS, the School of Public Health would additionally be
16   presented with an opportunity for students to participate in
17   real-life public health decision making and practice and
18   afforded a series of new research and service venues for
19   faculty and students; and 
20   
21        WHEREAS, a partnership between the School of Public Health
22   and the Department of Health would be cost effective in sharing
23   expertise rather than employing a duplication of expertise in
24   each respective government agency; now, therefore, 
25   
26        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
27   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 1999, the House of
28   Representatives concurring, that the Department of Health and
29   the University of Hawaii School of Public Health develop an
30   action plan to enhance their collaborative relationship; and
31   
32        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health, and
33   Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii through its School
34   of Public Health, jointly establish goals and objectives to
35   accomplish a more formal partnership between the department and
36   the school; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the School of Public Health is
39   requested to report findings and recommendations to the
40   Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular
41   Session of 2000; and 
42   
43        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
44   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health,
45   the Dean of the School of Public Health, and the Board of
46   Regents of the University of Hawaii.