Bringing healthcare directly to individuals experiencing homelessness, the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) is expanding its street medicine efforts across the state thanks to a new $1.7 million grant.

Awarded by the (HRSA), the multi-year funding will support outreach and training on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Kauaʻi through JABSOM‘s . The five-year grant begins with $362,140 in year one, and prepares the next generation of family medicine physicians to serve Hawaiʻi‘s most vulnerable populations.

“This is an absolute blessing,” said Robert Carlisle, project director and JABSOM associate professor. “This is good for the state. This is good for the family medicine physicians. This is good for the people of Hawaiʻi.”

Expanding outreach

The funding will launch new street medicine experiences for family medicine residents in Waiʻanae, Hawaiʻi Island, and JABSOM’s new Kauaʻi program, which will train the first cohort on Oʻahu in 2026.

Carlisle credited partners, including HRSA’s Steven Coulter, JABSOM’s Chip Hixon, and site leads Cynthia Ohata, Ellen Bell, Megan Martelly, Doug Rose and Thomas Quattlebaum, with support from various local organizations.

“As physicians and professionals, we have a duty to society and the community around us,” Carlisle said.

Integrating behavioral health

Program leaders also plan to expand behavioral health and addiction services.

“The really tough lift will be to integrate behavioral medicine and addiction care into our outreach on the street,” Carlisle said. “Make no mistake, this was a massive effort to bring together four different programs across the state on three different islands. There was a lot of coordination and enthusiasm from all of us to recognize the potential benefits of street medicine.”

Seed funding from the Hawaiʻi Academy of Family Physicians, JABSOM’s Office of Medical Education, and the Hawaiʻi Medical Association helped launch the project.

“The small seed grants grew this much larger investment in street medicine,” Carlisle said. “This experience should have a profound impact with influence lasting over the next 30 years of their careers.”

To help purchase basic supplies like bandages and footwear, consider supporting the JABSOM .

.

Cheers, hugs and tears flowed at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) as the Class of 2026 opened envelopes revealing the next step in their medical journeys.

On March 20, 78 students participated in Match Day, learning where they will continue their training in residency programs across the country.

This year’s class is strongly committed to primary care, with 56% matching into internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and OB-GYN—fields that remain in high demand across Hawaiʻi. Additionally, 33% of graduates will remain in Hawaiʻi for residency.

Staying home to serve Hawaiʻi

For many students, staying home made Match Day especially meaningful.

“As cheesy as it might sound, I think it means the world to me,” said Kerrick Chinen. “I grew up in this place, these people have raised me, and it’s an absolute honor to be back serving the people and practicing even more at home.”

He added, “The heart said I really wanted to stay at home, but I knew the reality of it. It was a little dicey. So it was an absolute relief opening that envelope up and seeing the University of Hawaiʻi.”

Jonathan Carino shared a similar goal. “That’s always been my intention,” Carino said. “To do residency somewhere not in Hawaiʻi didn’t sit right with me, and I’m really glad I’m staying home here at ����Vlog�ٷ�.”

JABSOM Dean Sam Shomaker said that commitment reflects the school’s mission to serve the state’s most pressing health care needs.

“Primary care is the backbone of a healthy community, and Hawaiʻi continues to face a critical need in these areas,” Shomaker said. “We are proud to see so many of our students choosing this path and staying true to our mission of training physicians who will serve our communities here at home.”

It was also a notable year for surgery, with 19% of the class matching into surgical specialties.

Nationally, more than 38,000 medical students matched into residency programs this year, marking the largest Match in the history of the National Resident Matching Program.

.

For Thomas Gausepohl, returning to his hometown of Kapaʻa to study medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) is more than a dream come true—it’s a chance to give back. As part of the ’s fourth cohort, Gausepohl joins a growing number of local students learning to serve their own communities through a unique rural health initiative that’s transforming care on the Garden Isle.

Established with a $10 million gift from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, the Kauaʻi Medical Training Track (KMTT), aims to cultivate a dedicated cohort of physicians committed to serving rural communities. “Mark and I are so pleased to see the Kauaʻi Medical Training Track welcome its fourth cohort,” said Chan. “With 22 students now in the pipeline, the program will help meet Kauaʻi’s medical needs for years to come.”

Related ����Vlog�ٷ� News story: $10M gift helps address Kauaʻi physician shortage

Training rooted in community

Administered by JABSOM, the program offers an immersive training experience on Kauaʻi, allowing medical students to live, learn and train on the island for up to 15 months throughout their four–year education.

“Rather than a brief rotation, this pathway integrates students into the fabric of Kauaʻi so when they graduate, it will be an easier transition for them to return to the community,” said Travis Hong, director of rural training at JABSOM. “In addition to building medical knowledge, we’re developing community connections and long–term commitment.” Students accepted into the program receive extensive support, including tuition, housing and transportation, in exchange for a four–year post–graduation commitment to practice on Kauaʻi. While open to all applicants, the program prioritizes those with local ties or a demonstrated interest in rural medicine.

“Learning alongside doctors and preceptors who serve in Kauaʻi’s rural health system will be invaluable,” said Gausepohl, who was born in Kapaʻa and graduated valedictorian from Kapaʻa High School. “I think it will definitely help me see what this kind of work looks like day to day, and what it means to be part of a team that’s truly serving the community.”

Strong support, growing impact

Learning alongside doctors and preceptors who serve in Kauaʻi’s rural health system will be invaluable.
—Thomas Gausepohl

Since its launch, KMTT has attracted increasing interest, drawing numerous applicants for each of the available six slots. It has also generated strong support among Kauaʻi physicians, with 35–40 volunteering as educators and 22 serving as core faculty—all actively practicing on the island.

“Word–of–mouth and media exposure have helped the program grow organically,” said Hong. “And we’re seeing how this kind of sustained, place–based medical education really makes a difference–not only for the students, but for the entire Kauaʻi health care system.”

Kirra Borrello, a fourth–year medical student and a member of the first KMTT cohort, said the program changed the way she thinks about medicine.

“Participation in KMTT has significantly broadened my medical education by combining principles of community engagement and service into traditional clinical training,” she said. “Working closely with the Kauaʻi community preceptors throughout my third year has highlighted the importance of cultural competence and social determinants of health in delivering patient–centered care, especially in a tight–knit rural community such as Kauaʻi.”

For the first time in its history, Kauaʻi will be home to a family medicine residency program—thanks to a partnership between the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) and Wilcox Medical Center—marking a major step forward in addressing rural physician shortages on the Garden Island.

With funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Rural Residency Planning and Development Program, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education approved JABSOM‘s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health (DFMCH) to launch the
����Vlog�ٷ� Kauaʻi Family Medicine Residency—the island’s first.

“This is a beautiful example of the ����Vlog�ٷ� medical school, Wilcox Medical Center, Hawaiʻi Health Services Corporation and the broader Kauaʻi community coming together to find a solution to the critical neighbor island physician shortage,” said Allen Hixon, chair of the Department of Family Medicine. “We chose Kauaʻi because we recognized that we could make a difference in improving access to health care for the island of 74,000 residents. With the network of health care organizations already here serving patients, we wanted to bolster the number of physicians committed to this community.”

The program will welcome its first cohort in academic year 2026–27. Residents will train on Oʻahu in their first year, then spend their second and third years on Kauaʻi, rotating through Wilcox Medical Center, HHSC clinics, the District Health Office, Hoʻola Lāhui Health Centers and others.

“Our new Family Medicine Residency program will be a true partnership with all of Kauaʻi,” said the Kauaʻi residency’s inaugural Program Director, Cynthia Ohata. “The Family Medicine residency clinic will be located in Kapaʻa in the Kauaʻii Village Shopping Center, but Wilcox Medical Center, Kauaʻi Medical Clinic and Pali Momi Medical Center on Oʻahu will host many of the core rotations.”

“Wilcox is committed to developing the health care workforce on Kauaʻi. For students, this often starts with opportunities, like this residency program, to connect directly with our community while learning and growing,” said Jen Chahanovich, president and CEO of Wilcox Medical Center, and CEO of Kauaʻi Medical Clinic. “We are proud to partner with ����Vlog�ٷ� by providing a teaching environment that meets the rigorous standards necessary to establish this new accreditation. This is an invaluable investment in the future of Kauaʻi.”

“Since its founding 30 years ago, JABSOM‘s residency program has trained over 170 physicians, over 80% of whom continue to serve in Hawaiʻi,” said JABSOM Dean Sam Shomaker. “The expansion of this essential specialty on a rural island like Kauaʻi proves we are meeting our mission, and we look forward to increasing our impact throughout the state.”

.

The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s (JABSOM) marked the 30th anniversary of its (DFMCH) and the Family Medicine Residency Program (FMRP) in March, celebrating a legacy of training physicians to serve communities across Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

Since its founding in 1994, FMRP has trained more than 170 residents, with more than 80% continuing to practice in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific.

“From the delivery (cradle) to the grave, family medicine covers a lifecycle,” said Neal Palafox, a founding faculty member and former department chair. “It’s a view of not only individual health but population health.”

At a celebration event on March 28, Palafox reflected on the program’s origins at Wahiawā General Hospital, its move to Pali Momi in 2017, and the opening of the Pali Momi Outpatient Center in 2020. He credited the program’s success to support from health systems statewide, the legislature and HMSA.

“From a partnership standpoint, we had residents doing rotations at Queen’s, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, Tripler, Kaiser and St. Francis,” he said. “There is no hospital that didn’t partner to make this work.”

FMRP’s mission aligns with JABSOM’s broader goal of training health professionals committed to ALOHA—Attain Lasting Optimal Health for All.

“FMRP provides the opportunity for our homegrown physicians to stay in Hawaiʻi and care for their communities,” said JABSOM Dean Sam Shomaker.

The program has produced many distinguished JABSOM alumni and faculty, including Jill Omori, director of the Office of Medical Education and founder of the Hawaiʻi HOME Project; Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, associate dean for academic affairs and the 2024 Family Physician of the Year; and Chip Hixon, DFMCH chair, who was recently named Hawaiʻi Pacific Health’s 2025 Physician of the Year at Pali Momi.

Looking ahead, FMRP is awaiting accreditation to launch a new residency program on Kauaʻi, expanding its reach and continuing its mission of service to all of Hawaiʻi.

.

Family medicine is at the core of University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz�’s Lee Buenconsejo-Lum, who was honored as the 2025 Family Physician of the Year by the Hawaiʻi Academy of Family Physicians. The associate dean for academic affairs at the (JABSOM) has championed providing healthcare in the greater Pacific, where access to medical services is limited.

Buenconsejo-Lum, a Wahiawā native, recognized the need for quality healthcare in rural communities at a young age. She graduated from JABSOM in 1994 and was part of the inaugural cohort of the ����Vlog�ٷ� Family Medicine Residency Program, completing her training in 1997.

“I’m humbled to receive an award for something that continues to bring me such joy. No matter how hectic life gets, I still enjoy seeing my patients, and they help center me,” Buenconsejo-Lum said. “The work of family medicine is especially important during this time of rapid change. It’s critical that we provide continuity, stability, and a holistic approach to patient care because that’s what our patients deserve.”

I’m humbled to receive an award for something that continues to bring me such joy.

During her residency, Buenconsejo-Lum maintained her connection with JABSOM by mentoring medical students. She later became the designated institutional official, overseeing all residency and fellowship programs at JABSOM. Despite her many roles and responsibilities over the years, Buenconsejo-Lum has remained rooted in her Wahiawā upbringing and family medicine practice, bringing a sense of relatability to both patients and colleagues while upholding professionalism.

Leimomi Kanagusuku, a JABSOM alumna, benefited from Buenconsejo-Lum’s mentorship as a student and later as a resident, highlighting her lasting impact on future generations of physicians. Now a faculty member herself, she continues to look to Buenconsejo-Lum as a role model in family medicine.

“She truly exemplifies excellence in so many ways as a physician, educator, community member, and leader,” Kanagusuku said. “Dr. Buenconsejo-Lum has the tenacity, smarts, and energy to wear so many hats and look flawless in doing so, and we wanted to recognize her for her dedication and passion for her craft. Family medicine in Hawaiʻi is better because of her, and we are proud to call her one of our own.”

Anna-Kaelle Ramos, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM), fulfilled a childhood dream by matching into the ����Vlog�ٷ� pediatrics residency program. Joining her were 76 other students, all matched into various residency programs, continuing JABSOM‘s streak of 100% match rate for two consecutive years.

“Even though I didn’t know at that time that I was necessarily going to go into pediatrics or OBGYN or anything like that, being born and raised here, I knew I wanted to serve the exact communities I grew up in,” said Ramos, a Kaiser High School graduate.

Austin Corpuz, who grew up on the Leeward side, was inspired by the care he received from his community. Now, he’s matched with the ����Vlog�ٷ� internal medicine program, eager to give back.

Corpuz said, “I like to think about how I’ll impact this community in the future. That purpose is what really drives me forward.”

Primary care specialties fill need

A Hawaiʻi continues to grapple with a physician shortage, more than half of JABSOM students are pursuing primary care specialties of internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics.

For many of them, staying in Hawaiʻi to learn and serve is a priority. Although not all specialties are available locally, 31% of the JABSOM class of 2024 will continue their training in Hawaiʻi.

This year JABSOM matched 16 students in pediatrics, the highest number in seven years, promising increased care for Hawaiʻi‘s children.

A rural family medicine residency program on Kauaʻi is in the works that will provide more access to care for Garden Isle residents, thanks to a $750,000-grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

With the physician shortage impacting the neighbor islands and other rural areas, families on Kauaʻi often struggle to find care. The three-year grant partners the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM), Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, Hawaiʻi Health Systems Corporation Kauaʻi, the Kauaʻi District Health Office and the broader Garden Isle healthcare community as they aim to break down barriers in accessing care by establishing new residency programs in rural communities.

Currently, the 233 residents and fellows in 18 specialties sponsored by JABSOM’s Graduate Medical Education enterprise train almost exclusively on Oʻahu. The proposed rural-track curriculum would now provide a cohort with more than 60% of the family medicine residency training on Kauaʻi once the program is approved by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education.

The program, which embeds more interdisciplinary training opportunities with public health than many existing family medicine residencies, will strengthen and grow the health workforce, which will eventually make it easier for Kauaʻi families to access care.

“Family medicine physicians care for entire families, from the youngest children to the kūpuna,” said Allen Hixon, chair of JABSOM , and Hawaiʻi Pacific Health chief of academic family medicine. “With the ongoing shortage of primary care physicians, especially in rural areas, this federal grant provides an incredible opportunity for JABSOM to partner with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, the state Department of Health and the Kauaʻicommunity to train the next generation of family medicine physicians on Kauaʻi.”

Under the new initiative, a cohort of residents of the JABSOM’s Family Medicine Program will spend their first year training at Hawaiʻi Pacific Health and other clinical sites on Oʻahu Their second and third years of residency will be spent training primarily at Wilcox Health on Kauaʻi.

“We value our relationship with the John A. Burns School of Medicine as we work together with the University of Hawaiʻi to create a pipeline for future physicians on Kauaʻi,” said Jen Chahanovich, president and CEO of Wilcox Medical Center and CEO of Kauaʻi Medical Clinic. “The family medicine residents will gain valuable experience and knowledge while training in a rural setting side-by-side with our providers. These residents are the future of health care and we hope to inspire them to continue their careers on Kauaʻi.”

According to the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, the entire state, outside of Honolulu, is designated as a primary medical Health Professional Shortage Area. Physician shortages, poverty and geographic isolation contribute to lack of access to care and poorer health outcomes for those in rural areas.

“We are very grateful to HRSA for awarding this grant and recognizing the health workforce needs of rural Hawaiʻi,” Hixon said.

This funding through the planning grant may be used to support accreditation costs, curriculum development, faculty recruitment and retention, resident recruitment activities and consultation services to support program development. A formal accreditation application will be developed by the partnership, with the aim of recruiting in the inaugural class by the end of the project period.

will provide women’s health exams and birth control to women displaced or impacted by the Maui wildfires at its health center.

Three clinics in Lahaina Town were destroyed, and women’s health services were already booked out for months on the rest of Maui before the disaster. The is located on its campus and is open to community members as well as students, staff, and faculty. It is open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

More on how to help Maui ʻohana and the Maui wildfires.

Hannah Litt is the nurse practitioner who staffs the center. In the past, she has provided women’s health care at both Kaiser Lahaina and Maui Medical Group office in Lahaina. Litt said the patients she cared for and their families have been in her thoughts constantly.

“I would love to help ease worries or stressors for the people on Maui who are already overwhelmed by loss or just don’t know where to turn,” Litt said.

The health center can dispense many birth control options for free on-site. Specific prescriptions for non-stock items can be called into a pharmacy.
For more information interested patients can call 808-984-3594 or 808-868-7799 (after hours), or email: hlitt@hawaii.edu.

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s (JABSOM) on March 16, announced a six-year, $10 million commitment from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg. This gift will fund the new Kauaʻi Medical Training Track, a multi-pronged program on Kauaʻi to help address the physician shortage and improve access to healthcare services.

����Vlog�ٷ� President David Lassner said, “We are tremendously grateful to Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg for their generous gift and commitment to our island’s community health. This gift will have a lasting ripple effect that will directly improve the health and wellness of Kauaʻi’s families today, and in the future.”

According to ����Vlog�ٷ�’s 2021 Annual Report for the State Legislature (PDF), Kauaʻi needs more than 61 doctors to meet the local community’s current healthcare needs. also note that the Garden Island has more uninsured people, more strokes and hypertension, and more adults with cancer than the rest of Hawaiʻi. The physician shortage, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, poses serious challenges for all residents—especially for those struggling with chronic illness and preventable diseases.

JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges said, “We know that doctors who train in rural areas, especially areas where they have family and community ties, are more likely to practice in a rural setting. To address Kauaʻi’s physician shortage, we need more medical students from Kauaʻi, and we must expand medical training on Kauaʻi.” Hedges continued, “JABSOM selects 80% or more of its student population from the state of Hawaiʻi and has one of the highest rates of graduate retention in the nation post training. This six-year initiative will help us grow medical student and resident trainee numbers on Kauaʻi and help practicing doctors on Kauaʻi benefit from the stimulating educational environment associated with training new doctors.”

Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg said, “Expanding the medical community will help improve access to healthcare services for local residents—which is crucial to building a healthier community on Kauaʻi. We’re honored to support the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi as they strive to address the physician shortage by creating a more robust pipeline of doctors.”

Through the Kauaʻi Medical Training Track, six JABSOM medical students, with ties to Kauaʻi or another neighbor island and/or a strong interest in rural health, will be accepted into this program annually beginning July 2022. The program will fund tuition and fees for all four years, as well as transportation and lodging.

The gift will also enable JABSOM to:

• Develop a faculty base and offer rural residencies to equip future physicians with the experience needed to practice on Kauaʻi and in other rural communities that do not have multiple specialists readily available.
• Add 21 residents to Kauaʻi annually.
• Hire a Kauaʻi Director for Interdisciplinary Training and Simulation and support staff to oversee and expand interdisciplinary training and education with Kauaʻi Community College health sciences students.

Kauaʻi District Health Officer Janet Berreman added, “Being the District Health Officer on Kauaʻi for five years, including through the pandemic, has highlighted for me the critical importance of healthcare providers who are deeply embedded in and committed to our community.”

Berreman continued, “No one brings the level of intimate knowledge and skilled attention to the health of the community as well as someone who is from the community, trained in the community, and chooses to serve that community. This program is a much-needed opportunity to support the medical training of Kauaʻi’s future physicians, while ensuring that their training prepares them to live and practice here.”

Integral to the program’s success is growing the strategic partnership between JABSOM and healthcare partners, including and .

Kauaʻi Medical Director for the Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Medical Group Geri Young has been a practicing physician on Kauaʻi for more than 40 years. She said, “We very much appreciate the generous gift from Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg to help address the state’s physician shortage.” She continued, “Having the opportunity for medical students and residents to train on Kauaʻi is priceless, as many will ultimately decide to practice in a rural area such as Kauaʻi.”

Young added, “My husband, Robert Teichman, and I are both proud graduates of JABSOM. Over the years, we have seen how so many of the JABSOM alumni who practice on our neighbor islands serve in our communities for their entire career. The rewards of practicing medicine and supporting good health and wellness for our friends and neighbors are great. This program will give our future physicians a meaningful opportunity to experience this.”

Chief Medical Director for Kapono Chong-Hanssen added, “By providing such a longitudinal opportunity for budding physicians to experience health care and life on Kauaʻi, this program has wonderful potential to address the physician shortage on the neighbor islands and inspire more of our own healers to return to serve our communities after completing their training. We believe the collaborative relationships built between the various health care organizations on Kauaʻi will provide a valuable experience for these medical students and help them appreciate the famous saying “Maikaʻi Kauaʻi, hemolele I ka malie (Beautiful Kauaʻi, peaceful in the calm).”

Travis Hong, who was born and raised on Kauaʻi, has been appointed director of rural training and will oversee the program. Currently a physician at Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children specializing in pediatric emergency medicine, Hong is passionate about medical student and resident education and mentoring.

“Like all physicians who grew up on Kauaʻi, I left the island for school and training, but Kauaʻi has always been home to me. Having an opportunity to significantly improve healthcare on Kauaʻi has been a dream of mine since returning to Hawaiʻi and I am so grateful and honored to be a part of this targeted and very timely program,” Hong said.

The (USPSTF)’s revision to its 2016 recommendation on the use of aspirin to prevent the first heart attack or stroke in adults without a history of such cardiovascular events made headlines in October. Expert panel member Chien-Wen Tseng, professor and research director in family medicine and community health at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM),was interviewed by various news outlets on the USPSTF’s updated draft recommendation, .

“The latest evidence is clear. For people ages 40–59, aspirin can have a benefit but it’s small and only for some people. Folks need to talk with their clinician to see whether it’s the right decision for them and not just start aspirin on their own,” said Tseng. “As we get 60 years or older, the risks of bleeding increase and the harm cancels the benefit of using aspirin except for people who have already had a heart attack or stroke.”

Tseng said it is important to note that the task force recommendation is not for people already taking aspirin because they had a heart attack or stroke. “These individuals should continue to do so unless told otherwise by their clinician,” she said.

Tseng has served as a volunteer expert on the USPSTF for more than five years and will step down later this year. Appointed by U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, she was the first USPSTF member to be chosen from Hawaiʻi.

“It has been an incredible honor and experience. This has been terrific for me as a family physician. I take care of our community from babies to grandparents. Knowing that the recommendations apply to all of the patients I care for is incredibly meaningful and satisfying,” Tseng said. “Plus, at JABSOM we are training our next generation of physicians and teaching them about our national guidelines on preventive care.”

The University of Hawaiʻi and have established an academic affiliation agreement to formalize their collaborative efforts around medical education and training, research, clinical services and patient care with the ultimate goal of addressing the health care needs of the state of Hawaiʻi. The agreement is a three-party affiliation agreement between Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, the ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) and University Health Partners of Hawaiʻi (����Vlog�ٷ�P), JABSOM’s faculty practice group.

Areas of focus outlined within the agreement that will benefit patients and the state include:

• Creating synergies and aligning workforces to enhance models of care, strengthen academic programs and further each organization’s mission.
• Collaboration on health care education at Hawaiʻi Pacific Health medical centers and clinical sites continuing to provide education and training opportunities for residents, medical students, and other university learners.
• Enhanced support of research and other scholarly activities in Hawaiʻi that advance medical knowledge and health sciences.
• Strengthening partnership efforts on programs and activities that support the next generation of physicians and health care providers for Hawaiʻi.
• Coordination of clinical services and physician engagement in programs designed to improve health care for the residents of Hawaiʻi.

“Our hospitals have served as education and training sites for the University of Hawaiʻi and the John A. Burns School of Medicine for years, and we are proud to formalize this partnership and further enhance our collaborative efforts,” said Ray Vara, president and CEO of Hawaiʻi Pacific Health. “The COVID-19 pandemic has shined a spotlight on how essential it is for �Ჹ�ɲ���ʻ��’s residents to have access to quality health care, and our partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi will help us improve the health of our communities and work toward eliminating the disparities and inequities that exist today.”

“The University of Hawaiʻi and the John A. Burns School of Medicine have partnered with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health on many levels to advance medical education and training to support Hawaiʻi’s future health care needs,” said ����Vlog�ٷ� President David Lassner. “This new enhanced agreement reinforces our joint commitment to support medical education beginning with medical school through residency and fellowship training.”

As part of the agreement, JABSOM faculty who provide patient care as ����Vlog�ٷ�P physicians in the areas of family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology will be integrated into the Hawaiʻi Pacific Health Medical Group (HPHMG), Hawaiʻi Pacific Health’s employed physician and advanced practice provider group.

“In order to truly create a healthier Hawaiʻi, we must support the growth and development of the next generation of health care providers for the state,” said Leslie Chun, HPHMG CEO. “This enhanced partnership with the university and the medical school enables us to ensure high-quality care will continue to be available for our patients in the years ahead, particularly in the areas of family medicine and obstetrics and gynecology, which are areas for which the state has a critical need for more physicians.”

These ����Vlog�ٷ�P clinical providers will join other HPHMG employed academic clinicians with JABSOM faculty appointments in pediatrics and other disciplines. Medical education, research and training activities at Hawaiʻi Pacific Health facilities, including Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children (OB–GYN) and Pali Momi Medical Center (family medicine), are poised to advance in a highly synergistic manner. JABSOM will continue to oversee the academic activities of the faculty, and ����Vlog�ٷ�P will help sustain support of JABSOM’s teaching and research mission.

“Through this opportunity to build synergy with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, JABSOM becomes better positioned to educate and train our next generation of physicians,” said JABSOM Dean Jerris Hedges. “The academic affiliation agreement will focus on practice and training in pediatrics, family medicine and obstetrics & gynecology with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health. We look forward to many years of this mutually beneficial alliance, which will specifically align mission specific goals through strategic planning, operational collaborations and targeted fiscal commitments.”

• Related ����Vlog�ٷ� News story: ����Vlog�ٷ�, Queen’s Health Systems agreement expands medical education, research, July 28, 2021

A new Center for Pacific Innovations, Knowledge, and Opportunities (PIKO) to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Pacific People (IPP) is being established with the help of a $15 million, five-year grant from the (NIGMS). PIKO is focused on Native Hawaiians, other Pacific Islanders and Filipinos. These communities comprise 40% of the state’s population and have disproportionately higher rates of physical ailments and mental health conditions, compared to Caucasian and Asian people in Hawaiʻi.

PIKO will be led by Joseph Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula, professor and chair of , and Neal A. Palafox, professor of , of the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM). This Institutional Development Award Networks for Clinical and Translational Research center at NIGMS represents a partnership between ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, Chaminade University and a statewide network of community-based organizations.

“This is an unprecedented partnership and initiative in Hawaiʻi to support talented junior researchers in doing culturally responsive and community-engaged research to improve the health and wellbeing of Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, Filipinos and other health disparate populations,” said Kaholokula.

PIKO will take a team-science approach to transform current research paradigms to accelerate clinical and translational research to improve IPP health. There are seven core components to PIKO: administrative; professional development; pilot projects program; biostatistics, epidemiology, and research design; community engagement and outreach; clinical research and regulatory support; and tracking and evaluation.

����Vlog�ٷ� adds $1.5 M

����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� has committed $1.5 million over five years toward PIKO, which will increase the number of new and early-stage investigators from IPP communities for clinical and translational research careers. With strong mentoring from established researchers, these emerging scientists will learn how to conduct community-responsive research to find real-world solutions to reduce health disparities and advance health equity.

Key to PIKO’s success will be implementation and dissemination of research findings back to the affected communities through a robust statewide network of community-based partners and community stakeholders, who will share best practices, translate discoveries and leverage data to improve the health of IPP and other marginalized communities in Hawaiʻi.

“Achieving health equity in Hawaiʻi’s marginalized populations requires a dedicated and sustained investment in relevant discovery and problem solving, tasks that belong to the people of these communities,” said Palafox.

This effort is an example of ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.

The University of Hawaiʻi and The Queen’s Health Systems (Queen’s) announced a three-party affiliation agreement between ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz�’s (JABSOM), Queen’s and University Health Partners of Hawaiʻi (����Vlog�ٷ�P). This affiliation agreement, expected to be operational by September, will expand medical education and research, engage the next generation of healthcare professionals and improve the health and well-being of the people of Hawaiʻi.

����Vlog�ٷ� is currently working with another one of its valued healthcare partners, Hawaii Pacific Health, to develop a separate affiliation addressing the departments of Pediatrics, OB/GYN and Family Medicine.

The new affiliation agreement with Queenʻs will benefit patients and the community by:

• Strengthening and enhancing the education of the next generation of medical students, residents, fellows and other health professionals in Hawaiʻi.
• Attracting and retaining talented faculty, physicians and researchers in Hawaiʻi.
• Expanding clinical and research programs and providing opportunities to create innovative models of care.
• Enhancing teaching, research and community service missions.
• Encouraging and creating pathways for the next generation of healthcare professionals to provide care in our state.
• Improving each organization’s ability to meet the needs of vulnerable communities and address health inequities.
• Accelerating the achievement of improving the overall health of communities served.

A key component of this affiliation agreement is the creation of a combined physician group to be named The Queen’s University Medical Group (QUMG). This group of more than 450 providers, representing 17 specialties, will further strengthen high quality, compassionate care, innovation, research and education in Hawaiʻi.

As part of the QUMG, ����Vlog�ٷ� faculty will be employed and supported by Hawaiʻi’s largest clinical site for training medical students and more than 100 residents and fellows from JABSOM. Queen’s will ensure the medical group has the support needed to meet educational needs. JABSOM will oversee the academic activities of the faculty, and ����Vlog�ٷ�P will help sustain support of JABSOM’s teaching and research mission.

“This opportunity to align the clinical care and academic roles of those working at Queen’s to enhance training of our learners will transform medical education and research at JABSOM. We look forward to working with Queen’s through this new affiliation to help support Hawaiʻi’s healthcare training and service needs for the future,” said Jerris Hedges, dean of JABSOM.

“By unifying our practices, we will strengthen the education and development of the next generation of caregivers in a culturally grounded way, infuse research and innovation into our delivery systems, and expand and improve key clinical programs,” said Jill Hoggard Green, CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems. “We look forward to enhancing our already strong and longstanding partnerships with the university to achieve our shared goal of improving the health of our communities, both now and in the future.”

As the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many businesses and forced many into unemployment, the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) worried how it would affect its annual Giving Tree, which fulfills Christmas wish lists of homeless keiki. This year, the ����Vlog�ٷ� (HOME) Project and the Family Medicine Interest Group took a digital route.

“Fortunately we moved everything online this year and we were able to reach a bigger part of the community and we got more donations than we have before,” said Amandalin Rock, a third-year medical student at JABSOM.

The community responded, fulfilling the wish lists of 380 homeless—the largest endeavor in the history of the giving tree at JABSOM.

“I’m just really touched that everybody has just been so generous and even after all the kids were sponsored I was getting calls from people wanting to donate and wanting to contribute to the program,” said HOME Project Founder and Director of the Office of Medical Education Jill Omori. “And so we’ve just been really blessed this year.”

JABSOM medical students and pre-medical student volunteers spent hours wrapping up gifts and getting them ready to be delivered to keiki across several Oʻahu shelters, including the Family Assessment Center in Kakaʻako, Onelauena and Onemalu Shelters in Kalaeloa, Kakaʻako Paiʻolu Kaiaulu Shelter in Waiʻanae, IHS Women’s and Children’s Shelter, Villages of Māʻili Shelter, and the boat harbor encampment in Waiʻanae.

This year, they also supplied gifts for some of the kids to give to their parents and made goodie bags for families containing food, hygiene products and emergency supplies (first-aid kits, flashlights, blankets, etc).

For more, go to the .

A version of this story was originally published on July 30, 2020 in , the monthly newspaper of the Office Hawaiian Affairs.

Community health programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) were hit hard by COVID-19 as many of them involved first-year medical students going into local communities to conduct service-learning activities. However, medical students enrolled in “Native Hawaiian Health Past, Present, Future” in the spring turned it into an opportunity and in both English and ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language).

Instead of putting together an in-person health lesson plan for their annual visit to Ke Kula ʻo Samuel M. Kamakau, a Hawaiian language immersion public charter school, students in the JABSOM course created relevant health education videos.

:

• General COVID-19 Overview
• Proper Handwashing
• Masking and Social Distancing
• Staying Active at Home, an exercise video that includes a yoga session

The videos were completed using the English language and translated into Hawaiian for students at Kamakau, thanks to volunteer translators contributing many hours to kōkua and truly making the project a community effort.

Supporters at Kamakau, Ānuenue Public Charter School and ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� recruited family and friends to help. The end result is a collection of four videos, each with two different versions: one in English and the other with either Hawaiian voice-overs or Hawaiian subtitles.

The nine students enrolled in the course were: Kamuela Andrade, Abigail Bautista, Alyssa Becker, Amelia Hummel, James DeJesus IV, Elliot Koshi, Jason Lee, Jenna Maligro and Trevor McCracken. Maligro, a medical student, and LeShay Keliʻiholokai, JABSOM Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence research assistant, were editors for the project.

While the videos involved a lot of hard work and creativity, the project was a worthwhile endeavor. “The video project was a great opportunity for me to do something fun with my own keiki while teaching them a little about the current pandemic,” said Andrade. “And when the final touches were made by our editors and the great young ʻōlelo speakers, the videos came out even better than we expected. It was really a team collaboration all the way around and my family and I were just happy to be a part of it.”

“The process of making educational videos for the keiki about COVID-19 was fun, yet challenging,” added Maligro. “I enjoyed the creative process and figuring out entertaining ways to present relevant information. During this pandemic, our responsibility as medical students is to provide knowledge and education to our community. This project gave us an opportunity to play a role in educating our keiki about COVID-19, while having fun along the way.”

Faculty and students at JABSOM are excited to release the educational videos to schools as the new school year begins, and are proud to offer ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi versions, as well.

The videos are being shared with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Department of Education, the COVID-19 Joint Information Center, Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency and other entities.

.

—By Martina L. Kamaka

For the first time, the University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) was nationally recognized for its student-run Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) by the American Academy of Family Physicians.

The JABSOM student organization was selected as one of 18 medical schools to win the 2020 Program of Excellence Award for its exemplary efforts to grow and support interest in family medicine. In addition, JABSOM was one of only two schools nationwide to receive a $600 cash prize.

Among FMIG’s efforts are a school supply drive, a thrift shop and bake sale to support homeless outreach and education, Tar Wars tobacco prevention education for elementary students, and the Hawaiʻi Inter-Island Coalition for Primary Care Pathways, a new program to address the growing physician shortage across the islands. These efforts help improve the future of family medicine and build a vital primary care physician workforce in Hawaiʻi.

“Our JABSOM-FMIG students, especially the executive board, work incredibly hard every year to service our community and to promote primary care to both current students and those in the pipeline. I am so happy that they are finally being recognized for their amazing work and am extremely proud of all of them!” said Jill Omori, FMIG faculty advisor and associate professor of family medicine and community health.

“I hope the JABSOM community can take pride in this award with us and continue supporting us in our efforts to promote family medicine and improve the lives of those in our community,” said EunYoung Park, president of FMIG and a 2023 MD candidate.

FMIG creates opportunities for students to learn about and experience family medicine outside of their medical school curricula through hosted events, workshops, leadership development opportunities, community service and clinical experiences. These award-winning groups are breaking new ground with important initiatives such as starting pipeline programs for students who are underrepresented in medicine and serving their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

.

A pilot group of 12 high school seniors enrolled in Kapiʻolani Community College’s (CHW) program had a combination last day of class and completion celebration on May 13, 2020. The students are all from Waipahu High School (WHS) and their special recognition was delivered virtually, with accolades from administrators and the Hawaiʻi lieutenant governor.

The Kapiʻolani CHW program is a 16-credit program that leads to a University of Hawaiʻi certificate of competence upon completion. The program is composed of five sequential courses, culminating in a hands-on practicum course carried out in the community. This year’s cohort of students completed the first two classes at WHS and will complete the program at Kapiʻolani CC this fall.

“It is especially important, now more than ever, to have community health workers assisting people in our communities who need basic health screening, counseling and resources, but may not know where to go for additional care and information,” said Kapiʻolani CC Chancellor Louise Pagotto. “The students are to be commended for taking the first steps into a career that fills a vital role in our society. We welcome them all to continue their career paths at Kapiʻolani Community College.”

Melissa Bojorquez taught two Kapiʻolani CC CHW sequential courses with assistance from Marirose Deproza, a teacher at WHS. In mid-March, when ����Vlog�ٷ� mandated that all teaching move to distance delivery, Bojorquez, Deproza and their 12 students adjusted and transitioned to Zoom overnight for the rest of the semester.

Waipahu High School’s innovation

WHS Principal Keith Hayashi and Assistant Principal Eunice Fukunaga, approached Kapiʻolani CC about offering the first two courses of the CHW program on the WHS campus for seniors interested in healthcare and social services. The college was awarded a Hawaiʻi Healthcare Workforce Advisory Board grant to fund the WHS pilot program.

“The goal for these initial 12 students in our English Learner program is to leverage their multilingual skills in reaching out into their respective communities to address pressing health issues,” Hayashi said. “Amidst this unprecedented time related to COVID-19, they have discussed authentic examples in current context, through a relevant and rigorous curriculum. Nine of the 12 students have already registered for Kapiʻolani CC in the fall. Congratulations to these pioneers in academy inspired healthcare.”

A seamless healthcare pathway

The pilot program called for automatic admission into the final three courses at Kapiʻolani CC, creating a seamless pathway for the students. Future plans call for the first four of the five classes to be delivered at WHS beginning this fall, with the final course completed at Kapiʻolani CC in summer 2021.

From the outset, Lt. Gov. Josh Green and Pagotto were champions who supported the program and who saw its value for Hawaiʻi before COVID-19. It is no surprise, therefore, that both delivered laudatory messages to the students commenting on their commitment to much needed healthcare in the community and the state. Kapiʻolani CC’s Sally Pestana, director of health education non-credit programs and health sciences instructor Amanda Allison were also instrumental in coordinating the partnership.

University of Hawaiʻi researchers, faculty members and graduates are playing a significant role in the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One high profile example is Steven Hankins, a family medicine physician and ����Vlog�ٷ� ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) graduate/alumnus. Hankins teaches in JABSOM’s , where he has served as the director and is currently the associate director.

Since early April, he has been serving on the Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA) COVID-19 Emergency Response Team, leading the Public Health and Medical Services Emergency Support Function (ESF 8) group, one of many ESFs that may be mobilized in a statewide crisis.

Hankins is uniquely qualified for the role with his knowledge and contacts in the local medical and public health communities and his years of national experience working with multiple government agencies during disaster responses.

“I really see my role, and have approached my role, as a weaver if you will, to take those strands of public health and medical services and weave them together into an integrated fabric so we have the most effective, efficient and robust response possible,” said Hankins. “Working in JABSOM has given me this amazing set of connections, not only to the academic side of the health care sector, but to the broader health care sector. That knowledge has been extremely helpful.”

Wide expertise

Hankins holds a master’s degree in public health with a certificate in emergency preparedness and disaster response from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to entering medical school, he received a master’s of theological studies at Harvard.

He served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Public Health Service for seven years, specializing in emergency preparedness and disaster response. In that role, he delivered direct medical care to some of our nation’s most vulnerable communities and deployed to areas hard hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and was attached to the Baltimore City Health Department in Maryland during the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak.

Dr. Hankins is an immense asset to HI-EMA and the state during this unprecedented crisis.

—Luke Meyers,
HI-EMA Administrator

“With his knowledge and expertise in the areas of not only medicine but also in emergency management, Dr. Hankins is an immense asset to HI-EMA and the state during this unprecedented crisis,” said HI-EMA Administrator Luke Meyers.

Hankins was initially brought in as a subject matter expert by HI-EMA in early April and was soon asked to assist with coordinating the HI-EMA Public Health & Medical Services ESF at the State Emergency Operations Center. This group, in coordination with the Department of Health, is responsible for supporting disease prevention and containment, healthcare and medical response, environmental health and safety response, behavioral health services, healthcare infrastructure protection/assessment, medical shelters and mass patient movement.

“When we finally look back on this pandemic, we want to have reduced the overall illness and death in the state of Hawaiʻi related to all of the impacts of COVID-19—not just from the virus itself, but all of the health effects that come from the disruption of healthcare and other critical services. We must also mitigate the health-related consequences of the economic impacts across all of our sectors, short- and long-term,” said Hankins. “It is this goal of minimizing the total illness and death that really drives what we do.”

����Vlog�ٷ�’s critical role

He is seeing firsthand the critical role ����Vlog�ٷ� serves in the pandemic response. Several people on his team are ����Vlog�ٷ� faculty or trained in the ����Vlog�ٷ� system.

“The amount of capacity that has been added to Hawaiʻi’s response system, through ����Vlog�ٷ�, is just tremendous,” said Hankins. “There are skills that I learned as a medical student at JABSOM that I apply everyday as we work through this crisis response. Part of that is how to approach complex problems in a thoughtful and methodical manner. And how to take huge volumes of complex information and be able to digest it, process it and organize it, and then share it in a way that is meaningful.”

As far as his outlook for Hawaiʻi, Hankins said the state was lucky because authorities took decisive action in implementing protective measures before the virus spread to the degree seen in many other locations. He is quick to acknowledge that the situation is far from over. From his previous experience responding to crises, however, he knows that “by coming together as a community and by all doing our part we will be able to minimize the impacts of COVID-19.”

“What gets communities through any disaster is that connectedness to each other, taking care of neighbors, looking out for the vulnerable,” he said. “This is really about our kuleana to our ʻohana and kupuna and really working together to make this come out with the best possible outcomes for health and well-being in our community. This is work very consistent with our vision at the John A. Burns School of Medicine which is ‘to Attain Lasting Optimal Health for All’ or ALOHA, for short.”

The University of Hawaiʻi at ����ԴDz� (JABSOM) presented results of a five-year study that showed hula significantly reduced hypertension in Native Hawaiian participants. The results were presented September 7, at the national meeting.

JABSOM researchers recruited 263 Native Hawaiians in nine communities on three islands. All were given three-hour sessions of hypertension education that included information on diet, exercise and the use of medications. Then, participants were randomly assigned to a control group that received no additional intervention, or to a hula intervention.

Hula participants attended one-hour group hula classes twice a week for three months, followed by one monthly lesson for three additional months with self-directed practice, as well as group activities to reinforce hypertension education and healthy behaviors. All participants continued their usual medical treatment during the study.

Those who participated in the program incorporating hula lowered their blood pressure far below what those who were not assigned to the hula intervention were able to accomplish. They significantly reduced their 10-year risk of getting heart disease and they were able to sustain improvements in their blood pressure after one-year —which was six months after the study’s hula classes ended. The participants reduced their systolic (top number) blood pressure by an average of 17 points.

“I don’t want to say I would be dead, but I would have probably had a heart attack or stroke by now, because I know exactly what I didn’t do,” said Arma Oana, a study participant. “I didn’t exercise until I came to the program. I didn’t think I could.”

Principal investigator for the study Keaweʻaimoku Kaholokula, chair of the medical school’s (DNHH), said his researchers have found that Native Hawaiians want group-based and culturally relevant lifestyle interventions that resonate with their cultural values and perspectives.

“Hula is fun, it’s something you can do at an older age as well as a young age,” said Kaholokula. “It can be adjusted, modified for people with different physical capacity. You can do the Merrie Monarch competition duck walks for younger people and you can do the slower, gentle side-to-side (motion) for older folks; so I think it’s a type of physical activity that makes sense, that we can really use for health promotion.”

Co-Investigator Mele Look emphasized that more than just the hula movements was at work improving the participants’ health.

“What the kumu hula (teachers of hula) have been telling us is that hula integrates your mind, body and spirit. The hula environment creates really strong social connections between the kumu and the participant and the participants with each other, and all that together helped reinforce them to make changes in their lifestyle; maybe improve their commitment to taking their medications, inspire them to continue practicing the hula, even the stress management component—knowing you have friends supporting you,” said Look, DNHH director of community engagement. “Hula is great for your health, mind, body and spirit.”

Ten kumu hula were involved in the study, guided by Mapuana de Silva from Hālau Mōhala ʻIlimia, who partnered with the researchers. Six community organizations joined the study, named The KaHOLO Project. Before the research was presented to the American Heart Association in New Orleans on September 7, the researchers met with participants in Hawaiʻi to inform them of the results and congratulate them on their success.

One of the study participants, Luana Albino of Waimānalo said, “When I lost my first two pounds I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve been trying forever to lose weight and I couldn’t.’ I saw my blood pressure and diabetes (go down).”

The study was funded by the of the National Institutes of Health. DNHH is the only clinical department within an accredited U.S. medical school specifically dedicated to the health of an indigenous people. Its researchers believe being asked to share their findings at the heart association convention is an acknowledgement of their work and a sign that health officials nationwide are realizing that to improve health in minority populations it helps to address those populations in ways that are culturally relevant to them, ways that meet them where they are in their communities.

“This study is a great example of how interventions can be more effective when they are tailored for cultural relevance to participants,” said the American Heart Association’s Chief Medical Officer for Prevention Eduardo Sanchez. “Not only are individuals achieving health-promoting levels of physical activity, they are also having fun, engaging in a valued cultural practice, and connecting with their community in the group classes—all important for well-being. This is an approach that can easily be applied to other groups and dancing styles, such as ballroom dancing, line dancing or salsa dancing, and supports the American Heart Association’s philosophy to meet people where they are to help them live longer, healthier lives.”

Kaholokula, lead study author, said partners in the study already are hoping to convince health insurance companies to offer coverage similar to that currently offered for gym memberships for certified programs that incorporate hula to reduce heart disease.

—By Tina Shelton