Hawaii’s largest county by land size is at the mercy of an alarmingly high physician shortage.
Hawaii County, which has an area of over 5,000 square miles and is home to approximately 200,000 people, has a shortage of 287 doctors, placing it third in the U.S. of counties with the biggest primary health care provider shortage, Nursing Education reported.
Compared to other counties of similar size, Hawaii County has 53% fewer doctors than it should, according to the site.
The shortage is just one among the several that have occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the delta variant quickly spreading, the state of Hawaii is facing a similar conundrum as the mainland U.S.: Hospitals are once again reaching or surpassing capacity.
The Star-Advertiser reported that the one-day tally of COVID-19 patients in the Aloha State has surpassed 100 as of July 28.
Nursing Education reported that Hawaii County alone requires at least 30 full-time practitioners to alleviate the shortage. In the previous year, the state had lost physicians to either retirement or other opportunities elsewhere.
Nursing Education reported that 110 doctors have retired, 139 have moved and 120 are currently working fewer hours.
Hawaii is the only state that taxes Medicare benefits, and only one of two that taxes health care services. Two other Hawaii counties -- Kauai and Maui -- have landed on the doctor shortage list as well.
Maui County came in at No. 5 and Kauai County came in at No. 13 of counties with the biggest primary health care shortages, according to Nursing Education.