REPRESENTATIVE MIZUNO NAMED CO-CHAIR FOR COUNCIL OF STATE GOVERNMENTS' HEALTHY STATES TASK FORCE SUBCOMMITTEE

Honolulu, Hawaiʻi – Representative John M. Mizuno has been selected as a Co-Chair on a subcommittee of The Council of State Governments’ national Healthy States Task Force. The Task Force and subcommittees will convene on Monday, June 17 - 19 in Lexington, Kentucky.

The subcommittee's dedicated purpose is to develop a framework on the capacity, preparedness, and resiliency in healthcare access and delivery during and in the aftermath of a natural disaster or health crisis.

“The CSG Healthy States National Task Force will bring together a diverse group of state policymakers to explore ways states can best meet the challenges presented by the current health care system and leverage the revolutionary changes occurring in the health sector,” said CSG Executive Director David Adkins.

Mizuno (District 28 - Kalihi Valley, Kamehameha Heights, portion of Lower Kalihi) will co-chair the Capacity, Preparedness and Resiliency, or CPR, subcommittee. The subcommittee will examine case studies and review recent state responses to health crises, including ways to prevent and/or reduce the impact of health crisis through preventive care.

"I am excited and grateful to be named a co-chair to this national Healthy States Task Force subcommittee," said Mizuno. "Serving with my colleagues from the various states will allow us to share critical health care information which we can bring home to benefit our states. At the end of the day, stronger states make for a stronger nation."

Mizuno was elected to the Hawaiʻi House of Representatives in 2006 and is the chair of the House Health Committee. He graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a BS in sociology and was on the 1983 Warrior football team. Mizuno also obtained a law degree from the Willamette University College of Law.

Subcommittee participants will catalogue lessons learned, list best practices, share success stories, and promote innovative approaches to help state policymakers better respond to emergencies in the future by incorporating a feedback loop into the health care system.

The work of the Healthy States Task Force will take place across a two-year timeline surveying best practices and innovative state initiatives during planned task force meetings, some of which will be held at the annual CSG National Conferences.

In addition to the Capacity, Preparedness and Resiliency Subcommittee, there are three other subcommittees under the task force: What’s Next? Leveraging Innovation; State Health Systems Return on Investment; and Interventions to Save Lives. Each subcommittee has two co-chairs and 10 members.

“CSG is proud of its role as a trusted convener of state officials and is committed to a data-driven, consensus-based process in all of its public policy work,” said Kelley Arnold, CSG chief communications officer.