As Director of the Research and Advocacy Group, Reichhardt works to build a pipeline of skilled nurses and help them succeed on the island.

Laura Reichhardt
Director, Hawaii State Nursing Center

During high school, Laura Reichhardt was known to buy condoms for her sexually active peers. The county had one of her highest teenage pregnancy rates in the state at the time.

She says she was appalled because it meant many of her classmates were facing devastating consequences for their health, dreams and livelihoods.

Prior to moving to Hawaii, he began his community health career with the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission and focused on quality improvement with the Hawaii Medical Services Association. She earned a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Manoa, then Dean Mary She underwent policy training under Boland and worked as a nursing policy intern under then-state Senator Rosalyn Her Baker . Reichhardt is a certified adult gerontology nurse.

she Hawaii State Nursing CenterNurses are her patients in 2015, she said, and she’s particularly proud of her involvement in establishing a state income tax credit for health care providers who train qualified students. In preparation for her pandemic, she also contributed to the creation of Chief Nursing Officer Hui, who shares challenges and solutions with each other. And in 2021, Reichhardt recognizes the DAISY Foundation for her policy work to remove barriers that prevent highly educated advanced practice registered nurses from practicing advanced levels of care. and was honored by her HealthImpact.

Dr. Aimee Malia Grace, Director of Strategic Health Initiatives at UH, said Reichhardt is a bright, visionary and thoughtful leader, creating policy solutions that consider the impact on people and communities. said.

“I think she will address Hawaii’s health worker shortage in the right way for our state and our people,” she says.

Reichhardt also serves on the boards of the Hawaii Rural Health Association, the Arcadia Family of Companies, the Hawaii and Pacific Health Education Center, and the Hawaii Healthcare Workforce Advisory Board.

“After 15 years, I would say to a nurse, ‘I feel so supported in this condition. I love working as a nurse in Hawaii,'” she says. “I tell people in Hawaii, ‘I feel cared for. I know. “