Strengthening Public Health Across the Pacific

Last month, staff from the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC) in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) visited Hawaiʻi for a multi-day learning exchange focused on strengthening public health work across the Pacific. CHCC brings together hospital services, public health, behavioral health, and community guidance centers on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, and the visit created space to share approaches, ask questions, and learn from one another.

The exchange began at the Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC), thanks to Dr. May Okihiro, a pediatrician and community researcher at WCCC, and Chair of HIPHI’s Board of Directors, who helped connect the two organizations. While at WCCHC, the CHCC team learned more about the center’s community-based model of care and how programs like Food as Medicine are woven into broader efforts to support health and resilience in Waiʻanae.

CHCC then spent two days with the HIPHI team. The first day focused on work related to kūpuna health, community-based research, and public health workforce development and community health worker initiatives. Conversations centered on how these efforts are designed, what has worked in practice, and how similar approaches might translate across island communities.

On the second day, CHCC met with HIPHI’s chronic disease prevention (tobacco and drug prevention, health eating, and active living), and disease outbreak prevention teams. Presenters shared strategies for engaging youth, supporting healthy behaviors, promoting physical activity, and improving nutrition. The exchange concluded with Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) partners, who discussed statewide efforts to modernize data systems, reduce chronic disease, and strengthen outbreak response. These topics resonated with the CHCC team, given the shared challenges of geography and limited resources across the Pacific.

The learning exchange reinforced the value of creating intentional space for peer learning and collaboration. By bringing together teams working in different island contexts, the visit offered practical insights and sparked new ideas that support ongoing public health work in Hawaiʻi and across the Pacific. We’re grateful to the CHCC team for making the trip and for openly sharing their experiences, and to the staff at WCCC and DOH who shared their work and helped make the exchange possible.