News Release

February 6, 2012
HMSA Foundation invests in programs for a healthy community

Moani Wright-Van Alst
(808) 952-7566
moani_wright@hmsa.com

The Hawai‘i Medical Service Association (HMSA) Foundation today announced $450,494 grant awards to 10 local health programs and community organizations in the fourth quarter of last year. The HMSA Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable foundation that supports efforts across the state to improve the health of Hawaii’s people.

HMSA Foundation fourth-quarter grants:

• Aloha Medical Mission – The grant expands the Honolulu Dental Clinic’s services to continue helping the growing number of uninsured and underserved. The clinic partners with neighboring elementary schools on a dental care educational outreach program for kindergarten students and their parents. Grant amount – $150,000.

  “The board and staff of Aloha Medical Mission are grateful to the HMSA Foundation for its continued support of Hawaii’s only free dental clinic, which is now open full-time and serving patients throughout the state,” said Bradley Wong, M.D., president of Aloha Medical Mission’s board of directors.

• American Diabetes Association – The grant supported the 9^th Annual Professional Symposium “2011-Diabetes Below the Belt Line.” This symposium helped primary care providers, pharmacists, dietitians, nurses, certified diabetes educators, and other health care professionals learn about the latest information on diabetes. Grant amount – $5,000.

• American Lung Association in Hawaii – The grant supports Maopopo Oli Hano (Understanding Asthma): Asthma Education and Management for Native Hawaiian Children, Their Families, and Caregivers. School programs provide asthma education and management skills to teachers, and Native Hawaiian children and adults with asthma and their family members. Grant amount – $25,000.

• Faith Action for Community Equity – The grant supports health education and outreach for low-income and homeless people. The project addresses the need for accessible, quality health care for underserved populations in Central Oahu. Grant amount – $5,000.

• Hawai‘i Primary Care Association – The grant enables staff from community health centers to attend the Healthcare Financial Management Annual Conference in April 2012. This two-day conference will address health care financial management, including reimbursement and compliance with new laws and regulations. Grant amount – $4,494.

• Māla‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School – The grant supports Diabetes Slam Poetry and the development of a diabetes lesson with Waimea Middle School students that will include self-assessments, physical activity, and the creation of slam poetry. The poetry will be presented to students at two school events. Grant amount – $5,000.

• National Alliance on Mental Illness Hawai‘i – The grant helps families understand and cope with a family member who has a mental illness. This program also helps people with a mental illness avoid becoming homeless. Grant amount – $20,000.

• Na Pu‘uwai – The grant supports the Molokai Drugs Health Care Program in educating people with diabetes on the importance of taking their medication. The program places 50 participants of Native Hawaiian ancestry and other minority groups in individual or support-group settings. Grant amount – $31,000.

  “The grant will help improve patients’ overall health and develop a positive attitude toward diabetes self-management,” says Judith Mikami, Na Pu‘uwai’s associate and resource director.

• Surfrider Spirit Sessions – The grant supports Junior Mentor Training with program materials for youth training and Neighbor Island expansion. The program motivates at-risk youth who have suffered from domestic violence, abuse, and neglect to help them become healthy, productive community members. Grant amount – $5,000.

• University of Hawai‘i, John A. Burns School of Medicine – The grant supports operations of the Rural Family Practice Residency Program. The program provides a residency program in Hilo to develop physicians who will stay and practice on Hawaii Island or within the state. Grant amount – $200,000.

The HMSA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt private charitable organization. It was founded in Hawaii in 1986 as a public foundation with the goal of stimulating research aimed at some of the pressing issues that confronted Hawaii’s health care industry. In 1997, the Foundation was converted to a private foundation to allow for larger contributions from donors, such as HMSA.

The mission of the HMSA Foundation is to extend HMSA’s commitment to provide community access to cost-effective health care services, promote health, provide health education and relevant research, and improve social welfare in Hawaii.

Health plan dues from HMSA members and employer groups are not used to fund Foundation grants. Foundation grants are funded with annual investment income earned on its original endowment. For more information on the HMSA Foundation, visit hmsafoundation.org.

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