2023 Annual Report

2023 Highlights

Celebrating Ten Years as a Public Health Institute

In 2013, we officially changed our name from Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i to Hawai‘i Public Health Institute, expanding our mission to encompass a broader range of public health issues. To celebrate, we restarted our Summer Social, an annual networking mixer, after a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic. In honor of the milestone anniversary, we recognized Josh Levinson, Lola Irvin, and Joy Barua – three of our amazing partners who helped to launch HIPHI and provided strategic guidance and support during the early days.

Policy Wins at the State and Local Level

Hawai‘i had three big wins at the state legislature this year: regulating e-cigarettes by taxing them at the same rate as other tobacco products, requiring wholesalers and retailers to obtain a tobacco license/permit, and restricting online shipping of all tobacco products (Act 62), securing up to $20M for Safe Routes to School program over two years (Act 244), and increasing oral healthcare providers by allowing qualified graduates of accredited Canadian dental schools to apply for service licenses to practice in specific settings, including community health centers (Act 100).

In addition, the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i and Youth Council worked with O‘ahu (Ordinance 23-28) and Hawai‘i Island (Bill 102) to pass legislation to end the sale of flavored tobacco in their respective counties. However, these ordinances can only go into effect when the counties regain the authority to regulate tobacco sales.

Hired and deployed CHWs

Through the Community Health Workers (CHWs) for COVID Response and Resilient Communities project, HIPHI partnered with the Hawai‘i State Department of Health to recruit, hire, train, and deploy CHWs and Bilingual Health Aides (BHAs) in local health organizations to support the pandemic response and address related chronic disease burdens across Hawai’i. CHWs were deployed to Catholic Charities, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, Maika‘i Health, KTA Pharmacy, public housing sites through Pear Suite, and Mauliola Pharmacy. This innovative strategy maximizes CHWs’ and BHAs’ strengths by delivering compassionate, culturally competent services in their local communities.

New Programs

Community Health Advisory Partnership (CHAP) Project

The Community Health Advisory Partnership (CHAP) is a coalition of community organizations, service providers, and community health centers working to develop a collaborative, cross-cultural, and sustainable model for health communication and promotion to reduce health disparities. Six of Hawaiʻi’s largest community health centers and over a dozen community-based organizations are part of this collaborative project. CHAP’s initial campaign supports the Med-QUEST Division’s Stay Well Stay Covered effort, helping Medicaid recipients understand renewal requirements, including the importance of opening the pink envelope and taking timely action to keep their coverage. To reach community members, CHAP is producing multi-language PSAs and print-ready translated posters and postcards, canvassing neighborhoods, attending community events, and leveraging partner organizations’ social media channels.

First Statewide Food Summit

More than 100 individuals representing multiple counties, sectors, and interest groups gathered January 11–12 at UH West Oʻahu for the first-ever Hawaiʻi Food Systems Summit, convened to prioritize the state, county, and federal policies needed to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food system: supporting health, resilience, and natural resource sustainability. The summit resulted in 12 food and agriculture policy priorities, which were supported by diverse subject-matter experts and food systems advocates throughout the legislative session.

Americorps VISTA

HIPHI became a sponsor site for AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America), a national community service program that aims to eliminate and alleviate poverty in the U.S. and build healthy communities. HIPHI partners with host organizations to place VISTA members in full-time, one-year service positions that offer a pathway into the public health field, along with a monthly living allowance, paid holidays, an end-of-service scholarship award, and non-competitive status for federal jobs. In 2023, six AmeriCorps VISTA members served at HIPHI, Aloha Harvest, and Project Vision Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Children’s Action Network, and Hawai‘i State Department of Health – Kaua‘i District Health Office.

Officers

• Misty Pacheco, Chair
• JoAnn ʻUmilani Tsark, Secretary
• Debbie Erskine, Treasurer

Members-at-Large

• Keshia Adolpho
• Camonia Graham-Tutt
• Carissa Holley
• Jennifer Lo
• May Okihiro
• Kathleen Roche
• Dina Shek
• Garret Sugai
• Titiimaea Ta’ase