The Hawaii State Office of Rural Health (SORH) and the Primary Care Office (PCO) are organizationally placed under the "umbrella" Office of Planning, Policy & Program Development in the State Department of Health. The SORH & PCO have complimentary functions to attain a shared goal of improving access to health care for those who are medically underserved

Hawaii State Office of Rural Health Community Partners Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program J-1 Visa Program Contact Us

Primary Care Office Mission, Program Priorities and Funding Hawaii Health Professional Shortage Areas Hawaii Medically Underserved Populations & Areas Federally Qualified Health Center Rural Health Center - FQHC & CHC National Health Service Corps Hawaii Primary Care Needs Assessment Databook 2005 (pdf) Annual Report (pdf) External Links and Services Community Health Centers Hawaii Primary Care Association Native Hawaiian Health Systems Papa Ola Lokahi Area Health Education Centers HRSA Shortage Designation Branch

The Hawaii State Office of Rural Health was established in 1992 in the Office of Planning, Policy, and Program Development within the Hawaii Department of Health. After a brief tenure in Hawaii’s State Health Planning and Development Agency during 1998, the State Office of Rural Health was returned to its original home within the Hawaii Department of Health on December 1, 1998.

The State Office of Rural Health works with community partners to improve health in Hawaii's rural communities; works with rural hospitals to improve care; works with providers to increase access to care by rural residents; and provides information concerning the health needs of rural Hawaii.

Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program - The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 created the Medicare State Rural Hospital Flexibility Program. The purpose of the program is to assist small rural hospitals and to improve access to health services in rural communities. Congress allows for a new hospital designation: Critical Access Hospitals (CAH). CAH conversion can allow for enhanced service diversification and combines potentially improved (cost-based) reimbursement with savings from relaxed operating requirements to help ensure the financial viability of participating hospitals. Currently there are nine CAHs in Hawaii.

J-1 Visa Program - J-1 Physicians, also known as Foreign Medical Graduates (FMGs) or International Medical Graduates (IMGs) are physicians from other countries who have sought and received a J-1 exchange visitor visa. The visa allows holders to remain in the U.S. until their studies are completed. At the completion of their studies they may stay in the country to practice in a federally designated health professional shortage area (HPSA) or Medically Underserved Area (MUA) if sponsored by an interested U.S. government agency. State government agencies may also sponsor J-1 physician waiver requests which are called Conrad State 30 programs.

Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program (SHIP) - SHIP is a program for small rural hospitals that provides funds to help hospitals meet the requirements for Medicare's Prospective Payment System (PPS); implement provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA); and reduce medical errors and improve quality of care.

Community Partners - The State Office of Rural Health works closely with the statewide Hawaii Rural Health Association and the three county-based Rural Health Associations: Hawaii Island, Kauai, and Maui. Community rural health initiatives and organizations are also emerging at the community level, such as in the district of Kau.