Hawai’i County Announcements……KULEANA HEALTH PROJECT; EMERGENCY CALL CENTER; FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS

HAWAIʻI COUNTY ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF KULEANA HEALTH PROJECT
In partnership with Community First Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, the County of Hawaiʻi has
launched the Kuleana Health Project to lead a consortium of local health organizations focused on improving
health outcomes through increasing health literacy. This 2-year project was made possible through a $3,000,000
grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH) to the
County of Hawaiʻi. In addition, Hawaiʻi County was selected competitively to be part of a $250 million, twoyear initiative to identify and implement best practices for improving health literacy to enhance COVID-19
vaccination and other COVID-19 mitigation practices among underserved populations. The Advancing Health
Literacy (AHL) to Enhance Equitable Community Responses to COVID-19 initiative is part of the Biden/Harris
Administration’s National Strategy for COVID-19 Response and Pandemic Preparedness.
“Securing these funds is critical to ensuring the health and prosperity of our community through the pandemic
and beyond,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “Our administration is focused on a thriving Hawaiʻi Island, and adequate
healthcare plays a large role in that. By working diligently with all branches of government and the private
sector to tackle the growing health disparities faced by many islandwide, we can and will create a sustainable
county where our keiki and raise their keiki for generations to come.”
Health literacy is a person’s ability to find, understand and use information and services to help them make
health-related decisions for themselves and others. Health literacy is a central focus of the Healthy People 2030
blueprint for improving the health of the nation, which is sponsored by the HHS Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Health. Healthy People 2030 has elevated health literacy within one of its overarching goals:
Eliminate health disparities, achieve health equity, and attain health literacy to improve the health and wellbeing of all.
Under the County’s administrative leadership, Community First Hawaiʻi has initiated project activities while
collaborating with the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo on program evaluation and quality improvement. Over the
next two years, the Kuleana Health Project will work with local consortium partners to develop a health literacy
plan to increase the availability, acceptability, and use of COVID-19 public health information and services by
racial and ethnic minority populations.
The consortium partners include:
● Bay Clinic, Inc.
● Kīpuka O Ke Ola Waimea
● Hui Mālama Ola Nā ʻŌiwi
● Kaʻu Rural Health Community Association
● Hamakua-Kohala Health
● West Hawaiʻi Community Health Center
● District Office Hawaiʻi Department of Health
The projects will also focus on underserved and rural communities by addressing chronic disease disparities
through improved utilization of telehealth by community members. The Kuleana Health Project is also expected
to leverage local data to identify racial and ethnic minority populations at the highest risk for health disparities
and low health literacy and populations not currently reached through existing public health campaigns.
County of Hawai`i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
“A thriving community is made up of individuals and families that are empowered to take responsibility for
their health,” said Randy Kurohara, executive director of Community First Hawaiʻi. “The effort to increase
health literacy is, at its core, about removing barriers between patients and providers so that every one of us can
make informed health care choices for ourselves.”
“Through this islandwide consortium, we aim to address health disparities among Pacific Islanders, Filipinos,
Native Hawaiians, and Hispanics as well as individuals living in rural communities,” said the County of Hawai’i
Department of Research and Development Director Doug Adams. “The Kuleana Health Project is currently in
the process of formalizing consortium partnerships with local community health organizations. We are very
pleased to have established this co-leadership with Community First Hawaiʻi and the University of Hawai’i at
Hilo, and are very excited to announce the consortium partners in the coming weeks,”

HAWAIʻI COUNTY EMERGENCY CALL CENTER BREAKS GROUND
Hawaiʻi County officials broke ground today on a new emergency call center which will be located off of the
Mohoʻuli Extension in Hilo. Constructed by Hensel Phelps Construction, the call center will house both Police
and Fire Dispatch and is slated to be completed in early 2023. Currently, Fire Dispatch and Police Dispatch are
operated from two separate locations, with Fire Dispatch being operated in a tsunami evacuation area. Upon
completion, the center will increase communication between departments and the community, accommodate
updated technology and communications systems, and create room for increased staffing. In attendance at the
groundbreaking were Mayor Mitch Roth, Managing Director Lee Lord, Councilmember Aaron Chung, Hawaiʻi
Police Chief Paul Ferreira, Hawaiʻi Fire Assistant Chief Ian Smith, Civil Defense Administrator Talmadge
Magno, and representatives from Hensel Phelps Construction. The project will cost a total of $25.4 million and
is part of the county’s Capital Improvement Funds budget.
“We are honored to push forward a project that will not only greatly benefit the community but also pay respect
to the incredible and invaluable work that the men and women in our dispatch centers do day-in and day-out,”
said Mayor Mitch Roth. “This project is long overdue, and we are proud to join the multiple administrations,
councilmembers, and community members who have fought diligently to conceptualize this project and get it
going.”

HAWAIʻI COUNTY ANNOUNCES OPENING OF FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT CENTERS
Hawaiʻi County announces the opening of its newly established Financial Empowerment Centers (FECs).
Established through a partnership between the national nonprofit Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund,
Hawai’i Community Foundation, Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), and Hawai`i First Federal Credit Union
(HFFCU), the centers offer free professional, one-on-one financial counseling and coaching as a public service
to residents. Counseling sessions can range from 30 – 60 minutes, with no limitation to the number of free
sessions an individual can participate in. The FECs are staffed with professionally trained financial counselors
who can help residents 18 and older, regardless of income, manage their finances, pay down debt, increase
savings, establish and build credit, and access safe and affordable mainstream banking products. Financial
counselors can also make referrals to other services and organizations as needed.
“Financial empowerment will play a key role in how we begin to build back from the COVID-19 pandemic and
return to a vibrant and thriving Hawaiʻi Island,” said Mayor Mitch Roth. “We encourage everyone in our
community to take advantage of this free service, regardless of their income level. Making sure that our
residents have the resources they need to succeed is all part of creating a sustainable Hawaiʻi Island, where our
keiki can raise their keiki for generations to come – and that is really our number one priority.”
Interested residents may schedule an appointment today by visiting https://tinyurl.com/5h9kfzvr. Appointments
may be scheduled to convene in person or via Zoom.