System
Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi
Hui Mala Ola Na Oiwi is the Native Hawaiian Health Care System System for the island of Hawaii. Hui Malama's main office is in a facility in Hilo shared with Bay Clinic. It has outreach offices in Pahoa, Hamakua, Kohala, Waimea, Captain Cook, and Pahala. The Hui's mission is to restore a health system founded on lokahi, the traditional belief that health and well-being are balanced and interdependent, man with the spirit world and nature.
Target Population
The estimated 43,500 Native Hawaiians residing on the island of Hawaii, mostly in coastal towns and villages.
Services Provided
Hui Malama focuses on providing preventive health services. Staff provides health education and outreach and transportation to and from treatment. Care managers provide assistance in getting health insurance, medications, scheduling doctor appointments and routine health maintenance. Hui Malama does screenings for prostate, breast, and cervical cancer; cholesterol; high blood pressure; and diabetes; and promotes colo-rectal education and testing. Prenatal classes and referrals are also available. A nutritionist provides diet and nutrition counseling.
Major Health Issues
One of the greatest challenges faced by people residing on the island of Hawaii is the great distance they have to travel to receive health care. Hui Malama has worked to alleviate that problem by setting up outreach offices in remote areas, and by providing transportation to and from the doctor in four of its own vans. Hui Malama has also worked hard to make Native Hawaiians more aware of their health needs through screening and education programs.
Staffing
The Hui Malama program has a professional staff that includes an executive director, three care managers, seven outreach workers, and a nutritionist.
Other
Hui Malama is member of two consortia from which it receives other funding: the Kau Community Health Coalition and the Hawaii Perinatal/Healthy Start Program, Hui Malama A Hoopili Pono. Hui Malama and Bay Clinic have a written commitment to work together in the best interests of the Hawaiian community on Hawaii.
Contact
Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi
311 Kalanianaole Avenue
Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 969-9220
Fax: (808) 961-4794
Other Sites: Pahoa, Hamakua,
Kohala, Waimea, Captain Cook,
and Pahala
Executive Director: Kaloa Robinson
Website: www.huimalamaolanaoiwi.org
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CLINICS
Bay Clinic Hawaii
Overview
Bay Clinic, Inc. (BC) operates three community health centers on the Big Island of Hawaii, an island the size of Connecticut with a population of about 150,000. Founded as a women's health clinic in 1983, Bay Clinic has been providing primary care since 1991. BC in Hilo is co-located with the main site of the island's Native Hawaiian Health Care System, Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi. Hilo, the county seat and population center (69,000), is located on the east side of the island. Pahoa Family Health Center (PFHC) is located 20 miles southwest of Hilo in the Puna District. Puna is twice the size of Oahu, but has only 30,000 residents. Rural in character, much of the area exists without paved roads, electricity, running water or telephone services. PFHC is the only medical provider in the district. Kau Family Health Center lies at the southernmost tip of the island in Naalehu, 65 miles from Hilo. Its patients are generally agricultural workers and their families.
Services
Bay Clinic's full services include family practice, internal medicine, family planning, well and sick child care, treatment of illnesses and injuries, STD screening and treatment, immunizations, breast and cervical cancer screenings, health education and counseling, and mental health. In collaboration with Hui Malama Ola Na Oiwi, Bay Clinic provides diabetes screening, nutrition education and counseling, blood pressure screening, physical exams to Native Hawaiians in east Hawaii. Sixty percent of Bay Clinic's patients require case management services.
Special Populations and Health Issues
Native Hawaiians; migrants from the Freely Associated States; Hispanic laborers; geographically remote communities. Diabetes, hypertension, and heart and lung diseases are prevalent. Asthma and other respiratory conditions are common on an island with an active volcano. Substance abuse, mental illness, and domestic violence are major concerns. Patient Profile for 2000—Ethnic groups served (top 3): Caucasian (38%), Native Hawaiian (27%), Asian (15%).
Staffing
BC's three clinics have on their professional staff physicians specializing in family practice and internal medicine, physician assistants and nurse practitioners, a nutritionist, nurses, case managers, and health educators, as well as, one Native Hawaiian Health Scholar; one National Health Service Corps (NHSC) physician; and one NHSC dentist.
Contact
Bay Clinic http://www.bayclinic.org
311 Kalanianaole Avenue
Hilo, HI 96720
Phone: (808) 969-1427
Fax: (808) 961-4795
Chief Executive Officer: Mike Mihora, MBA
Medical Director: Ralph "Tony" Brown, MD
Chief Financial Officer: Susan Lee
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Hamakua Health Center
Overview
Hamakua Health Center was Hamakua Sugar Company's infirmary until the company closed in 1993. Residents organized to save their health services and opened Hamakua Health Center (HHC) as a non-profit community health center. HHC is the only health provider in a rural district with approximately 7,100 residents clustered in small villages and former plantation camps spread out over 903 square miles. The largest population center has fewer than 2,000 residents. Almost all of the land is agricultural, and stretches from the mountains to the sea. The nearest acute medical care facility is 25 minutes away.
Services
HHC provides family practice medicine, family planning, STD screening, immunizations, prenatal care, diabetes case management, and health counseling and preventive education. HHC also provides after-hours availability. HHC has a Volunteer Program that offers community services and excellent learning opportunities for those interested in health care. Translation services are available in several Filipino dialects. The health center works closely with North Hawaii Community Hospital, Honokaa schools, Hoala Hamakua and other providers of service to meet community needs.
Special Populations/Health Issues
Elderly plantation retirees; geographically remote communities. Health center patients include an elderly population with high rates of chronic illness. Teen pregnancy, substance abuse, and mental illness are serious concerns. Residents in this rural district experienced tremendous upheaval upon the closure of the sugar plantation, which had been the area's major source of employment, housing, and social security for generations. As the population copes with life outside the plantation system, they have made significant efforts to address broad social concerns including suicide, crime, alcohol and drug consumption, domestic violence, and teen pregnancy. The large elderly population requires strong emphasis on senior services.
Staffing
HHC has on its professional staff physicians in family and general practice, a nurse practitioner and a physician assistant, nurses, and case managers. Two National Health Service Corps physicians are at HHC.
Contact
Hamakua Health Center
45-549 Plumeria Street
Honokaa, HI 96727
Phone: (808) 775-7206
Fax: (808) 775-9404
Website: www.hamakua-health.org
Executive Director: Susan B. Hunt, MHA
Medical Director: Anthony Giasolli, M.D.
Chief Financial Officer: Christopher J. Clarke, CPA
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West Hawai`i Community Health Center
Overview
West Hawai‘i Community Health Center (WHCHC) opened its doors in January 2005 when it took over the Kona Community Clinic, a free medical clinic previously operated by the Salvation Army. Planning to develop a Community Health Center in West Hawai‘i began in September 2002 and was spearheaded by a large group of community leaders and community members who organized a grassroots effort. Their action resulted in the incorporation of the WHCHC as a not-for-profit organization in November 2003 dedicated to providing affordable health care to the low-income, uninsured, and disadvantaged residents of West Hawai‘i. Effective January 1, 2006 WHCHC received its designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and federal funds to support this mission.
WHCHC serves a rural service area that stretches approximately 80 miles along the west coast of the island of Hawai‘i and 6 miles inland. It has a diverse geography with many small isolated communities connected by rural, country roads that go over mountainous terrain creating long travel times for relatively short distances. The population of West Hawai‘i is 44,248.
Services
WHCHC currently offers family-oriented primary medical services that consist of acute and chronic care, family planning, prenatal care, pediatric care, adolescent health, adult and geriatric services, and outreach. As a relatively new Community Health Center, WHCHC is still growing and is planning to establish comprehensive dental care within the next year, as well as integrating behavioral health into its family-oriented primary care services. Case management and pharmacy services will soon follow. Special Populations/Health Issues—Low-income families, Native Hawaiians, immigrants, homeless, uninsured and under insured. The ethnic distribution of West Hawai‘i is similar to the entire state, although there is a high percentage of Hispanic immigrants from Mexico who work on the coffee farms. There is also a growing population of homeless and a recent in migration of Marshallese. Significant barriers to care include lack of money; lack of insurance coverage; inability to find providers who will take low income, indigent or publicly insured patients; lack of transportation; and culturally diverse beliefs about health care. The overall poor health profile for the area has a higher-than-average percentage of teen births, poor prenatal care, higher-than-average infant mortality, low immunized rate and high tooth decay among children ages 5-9. Other health issues include high rates of asthma, diabetes, obesity, unintentional injury deaths and the highest use of “ice” in the State of Hawai‘i.
Patient Profile
WHCHC’s target population is 11,377 persons, 26% of West Hawai‘i’s population, who have incomes at or below 200% of the FPL. The ethnic groups served are Caucasian (55%), Hispanic (20%), and Native Hawaiian (15%), in addition to a significant number of homeless and Asian/Pacific Islanders.
Contact
75-5751 Kuakini Hwy, Suite 101A
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Phone: (808) 326-5629
Fax: (808) 329-5057
Executive Director: Richard J. Taaffe
Medical Director: Erica Evans, MD
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