Regions

The Pacific Basic Telehealth Resource Center’s (PBTRC) purpose is to support the advancement of telehealth in the Pacific Region. This region includes the State of Hawaiʻi and the US-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPIs) including the territories of American Samoa and Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the Pacific Island countries of the Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau, each of which has a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US.

The Pacific Basin is a region with unique characteristics including a vast geographic area that is the size of the continental United States. The region is characterized by diverse cultures, limited resources, varying levels of infrastructure, and differing needs. There is a common thread, however, connecting the US affiliated Pacific Islands to Hawaiʻi. In addition to regional cultural ties, there is a long history of collaboration between the entities treating each other as “ʻohana” or family.