Hawaii Governor Designates May as APA Month

Credit: David Hathcox

Hawaii's governor, Neil Abercrombie, addressed a plenary session of the APA Assembly during APA's 2011 annual meeting in Honolulu and told the delegates that he proclaimed May as APA month in Hawaii. He presented a proclamation to former Assembly speaker Jeffrey Akaka, M.D., of Honolulu. Akaka was largely responsible for bringing APA to Hawaii for its annual meeting.

All of the governor's message was not celebratory, however, as he explained how even a longtime advocate of expanding access to health care can be stymied when recession thwarts the best-laid plans. The reality he is facing is one in which his state revenues are down so much in the last two years that he is having to weigh cuts to Medicaid to deal with a surge in eligible applicants. Coverage of the Assembly's meeting will appear in a future issue.