HIPHI expands staff and board retreat to neighbor islands. HIPHI’s annual board and staff retreat shifted from Oʻahu to the neighboring islands for the first time in January this year. Kilauea Military Camp at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, providing the ideal setting for our team to reflect upon and revitalize passion for our work and gear up for a busy 2018.

Youth Council advocates for tobacco-free zones and wins awards. This yearʻs Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaiʻi (CTFH) Youth Council advocated for a bill that would create tobacco-free school buffer zones by prohibiting sales of tobacco products within 500 feet of a school. While SB 2304 ultimately failed, the Youth Council’s Kick Butts Day event at the legislature drew more than 60 youth advocates from six islands, part of a national youth movement to stand up to Big Tobacco. Sara Kay, one of our CTFH youth council members won the Advocate of the Year Award from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), and was honored at the national meeting in Washington, D.C. in May.

Kickstarted the Hawaiʻi Oral Health Coalition. Following oral health town hall meetings in 2017, a statewide planning meeting was held in May, gathering over 100 partners representing stakeholders, state agencies, oral health providers, and community members to share feedback, determine additional needs, and begin to work on next steps. A major outcome included agreement on the need to form a statewide oral health coalition.

First HIPHI Summer Social celebrates public health bills. This year brought HIPHI’s very first Summer Social event, where more than 80 public health leaders and advocates gathered at the Pacific Club in Honolulu to celebrate the more than three dozen public health bills that prevailed in the 2018 legislative session and receive the first copies of the 2018 Legislative Recap.

Hawaii’s first-ever Electronic Smoking Device (ESD) Conference sells out. On October 30, 2018, the Coalition for a Tobacco Free Hawai‘i, along with the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the State Department of Health, hosted the state’s first-ever Electronic Smoking Device (ESD) conference, ‘Clearing the Cloud’. Over 200 participants from various sectors, including education, law enforcement, state and city attorneys, and public health champions gathered to learn from national speakers and local experts to address the growing prevalence of youth vaping in elementary, middle, and high schools.

Expanded 808NOVAPE counter-marketing campaign. As use of electronic smoking devices and vaping continued to soar among teenagers in Hawaiʻi, HIPHI’s Youth ESD Prevention Project launched a ‘by-youth, for-youth’ counter-marketing campaign to promote health and ultimately reverse this disturbing trend. The 808NOVAPE campaign expanded its efforts from 12 public schools across the state to 18 with ‘Breathe Aloha’ murals, and three youth-produced video PSAs shown at theaters and on Snapchat and Instagram. Over 79,000 youth were engaged via the social media campaign, or 57 percent of youth (between the ages of 13 and 21) using social media in Hawai‘i.

Supported Community Health Workers (CHWs). HIPHI was privileged to support the work of Hawaii’s CHWs and held a facilitated strategic planning session with 15 CHWs from across the state, in partnership with the State Department of Health and Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association, with a goal of starting discussions around a shared definition of CHWs (for Hawaiʻi) and the potential to start an association.

Held healthy beverage summit. HIPHI, in partnership with the State Department of Health convened a statewide healthy beverage summit that focused on the results of the Harvard CHOICES project which examined the impact a Sugar-Sweetened Beverage (SSB) fee would have in Hawaiʻi. Two speakers who successfully worked on the SSB campaign in Berkeley shared their experience and lessons learned.

Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth (MCDFY). HIPHI was fortunate to welcome the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth (MCDFY) under our fiscal umbrella. MCDFY, which has been fighting for and engaging youth on Maui since 2013, is a local community coalition of partner organizations and individuals committed to reducing underage alcohol use and youth substance use in Maui County. 

Hawai‘i Public Health Training Hui (PHTH). HIPHI also formally welcomed the Hawai‘i Public Health Training Hui (PHTH) to our ‘ohana and, through the Hui, we will continue to support the public health field and expand access to valuable trainings across the state. The PHTH is a member of the Western Region Public Health Training Center and receives HRSA funding for public health training. In addition, the PHTH has a local steering committee and receives local support from the Hawai‘i State Department of Health and partners like Papa Ola Lōkahi.