This is our official staff account at Hawai‘i Public Health Institute.
Over the past several months, youth on Hawaiʻi Island have influenced their peers to Drop the Vape and educate others about the harmful effect of vaping. On May 10, 2021, Keaau High School hosted a lunch event, which featured local educator and professional entertainer, Ryan Hiraoka, to Drop the Vape (into an amnesty bin overseen […]
During the first few weeks of March 2020, Colin Finnerty, a 21-year-old lift operator at a popular ski resort in central Idaho came down with a cold. While he had heard about the COVID-19 pandemic spreading across the country, he also recalled many news stories about how it wasn’t affecting younger people his age and […]
Last year saw dramatic changes to the lives and livelihood of everyone, especially Hawaii’s youth and families. Education went online, sports were cancelled, and for extended periods of time families could not see one another unless they lived in the same household. There was hope for students to return to classrooms for the entire 2020-21 […]
The 2021 Legislative Session ended in late April, and with its conclusion, 265 bills (9.4 percent) were sent to the governor’s desk for consideration. While HIPHI and its coalitions identified several policy priorities at the beginning of session, and ultimately supported a range of bills that advanced public health in our state. Good bills that […]
During the 2021 session of the Hawaiʻi State Legislature, the Hawai‘i Farm to School Hui actively monitored and testified on twelve bills and two resolutions related to farm to school. After multiple committee hearings in both the Senate and House of Representatives with input from hundreds of testifiers, along with the requisite floor votes by […]
Public Health Internship and Volunteer Program at HIPHI HIPHI’s Internship and Volunteer Program offers students experiential learning opportunities, the opportunity to practice public health skills, network with coalitions, and work closely with HIPHI mentors. Over the past two years between Spring 2020 and Summer 2021, a total of 49 HIPHI interns and volunteers have completed […]
When the COVID-19 vaccine first became available in Hawaiʻi, kūpuna aged 75 and older were one of the first groups eligible for vaccination as part of the state’s plan to minimize risk of severe COVID-19 infection and save as many lives as possible. Today, over 91 percent of kūpuna aged 75 and older have initiated […]
As if you needed more reasons to get outside this summer: grab your mobile device and check out the Lihue Loop! Created by Get Fit Kauaʻi, the loop is a 1.3-mile self-guided walking tour that begins and ends at Kalena Park. The tour takes you through the Kauaʻi town of Līhuʻe spotlighting 19 historic and […]
The Kaukau 4 Keiki summer meal program was recently created to address the gap in food access for children in Hawaiʻi during the summer months. Supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer School Food Services, the Hawaiʻi Child Nutrition Program, and a team of private and public partners, the statewide program will run through […]
A new ordinance aimed at reducing underage drinking goes into effect on September 1 for the island of Maui. To help educate the community about the ordinance, the Maui Coalition for Drug-Free Youth launched a new website this month with information to help parents stop underage drinking at home. The ordinance, which was passed through […]
There’s one thing we can all agree on, in some shape or form, the pandemic has brought hardships for every person. We recognize that there is a lot of discouraging news circulating in our media, and we wanted to use our platform to highlight community members statewide who support community outreach and COVID-19 relief efforts. […]
April was Alcohol Awareness Month and Hawaiʻi residents showed up to support! Over 50 East Hawaiʻi residents lined the busy main highway near Walmart in Hilo on April 23, 2021, to spread awareness and show support for the issue. Many made homemade posters to remind our communities to “Think Before You Drink” and “Choose Prevention […]
