Latest news with #UniversityofHawaiiCancerCenter
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Higher cigarette tax clears key Hawaii Senate committee
GEORGE F. LEE / FEB. 6 The University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Kakaako. GEORGE F. LEE / FEB. 6 The University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Kakaako. A bill proposing a 2-cent increase in the state cigarette tax that would boost funding for the University of Hawaii Cancer Center passed its first hearing before a key Senate committee Monday despite ongoing opposition from retailers who worry about increased shoplifting and lost cigarette sales. The latest version of House Bill 441 crossed over into the Senate at the midpoint of the legislative session and moved out of the Senate Ways and Means Committee on Monday. If approved this year and signed into law, Hawaii's per-cigarette tax would jump to 18 cents from 16 cents on Jan. 1. The increase would go to the Hawai 'i Cancer Research special fund while simultaneously making it more expensive to buy cigarettes across the islands, with the goal of reducing cancer rates. But UH officials have pushed back against a Senate amendment to HB 441 that would dedicate the additional 2-cent tax to reducing the cancer center's debt on capital improvement costs. Cigarette tax revenue funded construction of the cancer center and its efforts to fight cancer, including reducing tobacco use. 'However, due to the success of smoking cessation efforts, this allocation has declined, indicating both progress in public health and a concerning decrease in resources for the initiatives that have fueled this advancement, ' according to testimony submitted to the Ways and Means Committee by Cancer Center Director Naoto Ueno and UH Manoa Provost Michael Bruno. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. 'Now providing less than half the funding compared with that of 2009, this source of allocation is no longer able to support its original intent to provide a top-notch facility, and to invest in the most promising cancer research, clinical care and community outreach.' Increasing the cigarette tax to fund the cancer center has been endorsed by state agencies including the Department of Health and health organizations such as The Queen's Health Systems, Hawai 'i Public Health Institute, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association and 38 people who submitted individual testimony of support. Opposition includes testimony from Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. She wrote that an increase in the cigarette tax would disproportionately burden lower-income smokers, 'who are already struggling with the high cost of living in Hawai 'i.' A higher tax also could hurt small businesses, leading to job losses and potential business closures 'in an already fragile economic climate, ' Yamaki said. They could also lose cigarette sales through increased shoplifting and from the loss of customers who might ask military friends and family to buy them tax-exempt cigarettes through Hawaii's military bases, she said. Yamaki also criticized linking cigarette sales to fund cancer center research. 'Cigarette consumption has been steadily declining due to increased awareness and existing tax measures, ' Yamaki wrote. 'Tying funding for critical research and other special funds to an unstable revenue source creates long-term financial uncertainty for the Hawai 'i Cancer Research Special Fund. Alternative, more sustainable funding mechanisms should be considered for this or any other special fund.' A separate Senate bill, SB 1204, would have forced the cancer center to merge with the UH medical school, which UH previously said would jeopardize the center's accreditation. SB 1204 appears dead this session. It represented the latest effort by state Sen. Donna Kim, who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee, to merge the cancer center with UH's John A. Burns School of Medicine and have the center's director report to the medical school dean. A similar bill Kim introduced in 2020 was opposed by then-UH President David Lassner. Earlier this legislative session, new UH President Wendy Hensel told Kim and other members of the Senate Higher Education Committee that UH would return with a recommendation over whether to merge the cancer center into JABSOM.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
University of Hawaii Cancer Center and Queen's to collaborate on oncology clinic
COURTESY UH CANCER CENTER The Queen's Health Systems and University of Hawaii Cancer Center will develop an oncology clinic at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako. 1 /3 COURTESY UH CANCER CENTER The Queen's Health Systems and University of Hawaii Cancer Center will develop an oncology clinic at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako. COURTESY PHOTO Naoto Ueno 2 /3 COURTESY PHOTO Naoto Ueno COURTESY PHOTO Darlena Chadwick 3 /3 COURTESY PHOTO Darlena Chadwick COURTESY UH CANCER CENTER The Queen's Health Systems and University of Hawaii Cancer Center will develop an oncology clinic at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine in Kakaako. COURTESY PHOTO Naoto Ueno COURTESY PHOTO Darlena Chadwick The University of Hawaii Cancer Center and The Queen's Health Systems are teaming up to provide cutting-edge, comprehensive cancer care to residents under one roof. The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop oncology clinic space at the Cancer Center's facilities at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine campus in Kakaako. 'As a member of the Hawaii Cancer Consortium, The Queen's Health Systems has always been one of the state's most powerful allies in the fight against cancer, ' said UH Cancer Center Director Dr. Naoto Ueno in a statement. 'This agreement builds on our mutually beneficial collaboration as we continue to save lives, and help ensure patients in Hawaii and the U.S-affiliated Pacific Islands can continue to benefit from cancer research that yields better preventive care, earlier detection of different types of cancer among different ethnicities, and improved treatment options for cancer patients.' Queen's will lease and build out the third and fourth floors of the center's Ewa wing to offer medical oncology, surgical oncology and chemotherapy infusion services. UH has already been building out the first and second floors for Hawaii's first early-phase clinical research center. Construction of, which means healing, is expected to be done by the end of the year. Ueno said the collaboration will offer Hawaii patients the best standard of multidisciplinary care along with access to early-phase clinical trials without having to fly out of state, which is the center's goal. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. 'We have a lot of good clinicians here and we really want to have this sense that everybody can stay on the island, ' he said. 'You don't have to go to the continent—that's the ultimate goal. We want to save lives in Hawaii and the Pacific.' Darlena Chadwick, executive vice president and chief operating officer of The Queen's Health Systems, said the move into the UH Cancer Center will expand services in high demand. 'We were really looking at how we serve our community and our patients better, and having everything in that location would be ideal for our patients, ' Chadwick said. 'They could see their medical oncologist, their surgical oncologist, they could get their infusion treatment, and then if they're enrolled in a clinical trial or an early phase trial, they can go right downstairs.' Cancer care services will still be available at individual Queen's campuses, she said, but the additional clinic at the UH Cancer Center will help minimize the time between diagnosis to treatment for patients, particularly with numerous wait lists. Queen's is also expanding its cancer program in West Oahu to accommodate more patients. In Hawaii, an average of about 7, 400 residents are diagnosed with invasive cancer yearly and about 2, 400 die from cancer every year. Hawaii is home to more than 65, 000 cancer survivors. Among women, breast cancer remains the most frequently diagnosed cancer in Hawaii. Among men, prostate is the most common cancer. Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer deaths among both men and women. Last fall, the UH Cancer Center renewed its from the National Cancer Institute, maintaining its position among the top 4 % of cancer centers in the U.S. The designation reflects the center's ongoing commitment to rigorous state-of-the-art research, along with care standards focusing on Hawaii's uniquely diverse population, including Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Filipinos. Ho 'ola is a collaborative project with the Hawai 'i Cancer Consortium, which includes partners such as Queen's and Hawaii Pacific Health. The consortium will work with University Health Partners of Hawaii to make early-phase clinical trial treatments available to residents. Queen's does not yet have an estimated cost of construction or timeline for when its UH Cancer Center clinics will be completed, but it will be several years out. The Queen's Medical Center has been accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, meaning patients have access to comprehensive care, including a range of state-of-the-art services and equipment.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UH Cancer Center backs bills to boost cigarette tax 2 cents
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ The University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Kakaako as seen Thursday. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ The University of Hawaii Cancer Center in Kakaako as seen Thursday. The University of Hawaii Cancer Center would receive a welcomed funding boost if the Legislature increases the state's cigarette tax by another 2 cents, while a separate Senate bill would have forced the center to merge with the UH medical school, which UH previously said would jeopardize the center's accreditation. UH officials and health and cancer organizations support Senate Bill 1528 and the latest version of House Bill 441, which would increase the cigarette—or 'little cigar '—tax to 18 cents from 16 cents. The additional tax would be dedicated to the Hawai 'i Cancer Research special fund while simultaneously making it more expensive to buy cigarettes across the islands. The latest version of HB 441 has been scheduled for a House Education Committee this afternoon at the Manoa campus with the UH Board of Regents. SB 1528 has been referred to different Senate committees but has yet to be scheduled for hearings. UH officials Thursday continued to push back against the latest effort by state Sen. Donna Kim—who chairs the Senate Higher Education Committee—to merge the Cancer Center with UH's John A. Burns School of Medicine and have the center's director report directly to the medical school dean. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. A similar bill Kim introduced in 2020 was opposed by then-UH President David Lassner. In his testimony at the time, Lassner said Kim's bill usurped the authority of the UH Board of Regents while placing the UH Cancer Center's accreditation from the National Cancer Institute at risk. Kim's 2020 bill 'would replace the judgment and decision of the Board of Regents, which established the Cancer Center in 1981, ' Lassner wrote in testimony at the time, 'without regard for the potentially devastating impacts of such a change.' At the time, the Cancer Center had been designated as one of only 71 NCI-designated cancer centers in the nation. There are now 72. Earlier in 2020, Lassner said the center was visited by a committee composed of cancer center directors from across the county who made their annual visit to the UH Cancer Center to ensure it was complying with NCI guidelines. He quoted the committee for praising the center's 'free-standing center with defined authority ' as 'vital ' for its success and continued NCI designation. Lassner also quoted the chair of the evaluation committee as saying that 'most institutions ' were interpreting NCI guidelines 'as meaning the cancer center director should have the authority equivalent to that of a dean.' Kim's current proposal—SB 1204—provides no justification or reasoning for folding the Cancer Center into the medical school and making the center's director report to the JABSOM dean. During a Senate Higher Education Committee Thursday on SB 1204, new UH President Wendy Hensel told the committee that UH Manoa Provost Michael Bruno was working on developing a recommendation over whether to merge the Cancer Center into JABSOM. Bruno told Kim that the possibility of a merger could 'take advantage of efficiencies.' And UH officials acknowledged that half of the 72 NCI-accredited cancer centers around the country operate within their medical schools. Currently, Hensel said, the Cancer Center sits among 'the top 4 % in the country ' compared with all other cancer centers. Hensel asked Kim to 'respectfully … withdraw the bill ' to give UH time to research the issue and make a recommendation on how to proceed for the 2026 legislative session. Kim, clearly exasperated, said she has been asking for years for a plan and recommendation from UH over what to do about the Cancer Center. But Kim agreed to defer her bill—in yet another sign of the honeymoon period Hensel continues to enjoy with key senators after years of them expressing unhappiness and open frustration toward Lassner and his top administrators. 'Your frustration is certainly justified, ' Hensel told Kim. 'We will get it done.' Before Thursday's Higher Education hearing, Bruno and Cancer Center Director Naoto Ueno wrote in testimony supporting increasing the cigarette tax that Cancer Center funding has fallen as statewide smoking cessation efforts have succeeded. More than 70, 000 people in Hawaii 'are living with cancer and praying for a cure, and each year 2, 300 Hawai 'i residents die of this terrible disease, ' they wrote. Cigarette tax revenue helped build the Cancer Center and its ongoing anti-cancer efforts. 'However, due to the success of smoking cessation efforts, this revenue has declined, indicating both progress in public health and a concerning decrease in resources for the initiatives that have fueled this advancement, ' Nueto and Bruno wrote. 'Now providing less than half the funding compared with that of 2009, this source of revenue is no longer able to support its original intent to provide a top-notch facility, and to invest in the most promising cancer research, clinical care and community outreach.' Opposition includes testimony from Tina Yamaki, president of the Retail Merchants of Hawaii. She wrote that increasing the tax would disproportionately hurt sales for small businesses, 'potentially leading to job losses and closures in an already fragile economic climate. We would also see more people purchasing these products on military bases or having friends and family purchasing it for them.' 'The higher price of these types of goods would only make it more attractive to shoplift, ' Yamaki wrote. Support for an increase in the cigarette tax to help the Cancer Center has come from Hawai 'i Pacific Health, The Queen's Health Systems, the Hawaii Medical Association, the Hawaii Medical Service Association and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
