By Janna Hoshide, Healthcare Association of Hawaii
When we walk into the new ʻAulama I Ke Ola Health Learning Lab at Waiʻanae High School, we see more than a classroom. We see a hospital bay, a long-term room, a clinic exam room, real medical equipment, and a Waiʻanae High School senior named Kaomi Chase practicing how to intake patients and greet someone walking through the door for the first time.
Kaomi is training in our Patient Service Representative Program, and she told us the space has already changed how she sees her own future. “This space is a big difference for everyone,” she said. “Being here lets me practice better and gives me more confidence. With this facility, it’s like my dream is coming true to pursue healthcare.”
That’s exactly why we built it.
At the Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH), we have a big vision to create a best-in-nation network of modern health learning labs in high schools across our state. These labs will enable high school students to practice clinical skills in a space designed to reflect real-world healthcare environments.
Hawaiʻi is in high demand for entry-level professions such as patient service representatives and certified nurse aides, which require short-term certificate training that can be provided while students are still in high school. Once completed, students can become directly employable upon graduation.
Over the past 4 years, workforce programs at HAH have helped more than 320 high school seniors across 19 schools train for and move directly into medical assisting, patient service representative, phlebotomy, and certified nurse aide positions across the state. This new lab builds on that work by reaching students earlier in their high school health services pathway experience.
Hilton Raethel, our HAH President and CEO, said it best: “We are investing in our local youth to ensure they can envision a future here. We want students to feel connected to their communities, confident in their abilities, and motivated to contribute to healthier communities. We are building healthcare learning labs and career programs where Hawaiʻi’s youth can grow, succeed, and continue to call Hawaiʻi home.”
After graduation, these newly employed students also have opportunities to advance through “glidepaths” or earn-and-learn programs. These programs enable students to build additional skills and increase their earning potential while working and continuing to serve their community’s healthcare needs. For example, students employed through HAH’s patient service representative program at Waiʻanae High School have opportunities to participate in CNA+ to LPN, medical assisting, and registered nurse glidepaths, all while living and working within Waiʻanae. HAH has plans to duplicate this model across the state.
For Abigail Felicia Garcesano, a student in Waiʻanae’s health services pathway program, the lab means something beyond her own career plans. It’s a chance to push back on how her community is often seen from the outside. “Despite the negative assumptions about Waiʻanae, it is good that the growing opportunities have made a more positive impression on the community,” Abigail said. “With the exposure of our new healthcare learning lab to the public, I hope to inspire people of all ages to make a difference in their community.”
That’s the shift we at HAH are working towards. We’re supporting our healthcare members and communities, but just as important, giving students a real, visible reason to envision and build their future here in Hawaiʻi.
We are deeply grateful to the partners who made the Waiʻanae High School health learning lab possible. Mahalo to the Hawai’i State Legislature for providing funding, in partnership with HIDOE, Hawai’i 3Rs, and G70. We also extend our sincere appreciation to the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation and the other private funders of this project for their generous philanthropic contributions: First Hawaiian Bank Foundation, G70, HMSA, HAH, Kaiser Permanente, The Harry and Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, UHA Health Insurance, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Hawaiʻi.
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