The is giving local high school graduates a clearer path to careers while helping address the state’s critical nursing shortage.
A new reserves nursing program seats for qualified Hawaiʻi high school graduates who complete prerequisites and maintain required grades. They won’t have to reapply during their sophomore year.
Five new faculty positions funded by the Legislature helped grow the incoming class from 30 to 40 students this year. The program plans to admit 50 next year.
“The more rural, the more need there is,” said Jeanette Ayers-Kawakami, director of 糖心视频 Hilo’s School of Nursing.
The shortage hits neighbor islands hardest. Pandemic burnout and retirements have added pressure to the nursing workforce.
For Hilo High School graduate Dylan Yanazaki, nursing is personal. Her mother’s severe eye injury required frequent trips to Oʻahu for care, inspiring her career choice.
Now part of the first direct-entry cohort, she hopes to stay on Hawaiʻi Island and serve local families.
“It would be great to be a part of that solution here,” Yanazaki said.
