Hawai‘i Immunization Coalition (HIC) officially joins HIPHI! HIC is a state-wide, community-based group of public…
- HIPHI celebrated 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.
- Three major bills were passed at the state legislature: 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).
- 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.
- More than 100 individuals representing multiple counties, sectors, and interest groups gathered for the first-ever Hawaiʻi Food Systems Summit, convened to prioritize the state, county, and federal policies needed to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s food system.
- 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 partnered with 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 to place six AmeriCorps VISTA members in 2023.