The state Department of Health and Hawaii District Health Office hosted their first National Public Health Week event since the novel coronavirus pandemic on Thursday, uniting a variety of health care services and providers available in Hawaii County.
“We haven’t had a public health week in quite some time,” said John Kolman, DOH district health officer. “And since we’re on the backside of the pandemic, we thought it was important to bring it back and help the community to focus on their own health and community health overall.”
Roughly 100 people attended the event which began with a walk alongside Mayor Mitch Roth, who addressed the ongoing health care shortage in Hawaii County.
“Our island has a severe health care shortage, with probably about a 50% shortage of who we need for our health care providers,” Roth said. “That means doctors, nurses, public health nurses, people at public health, and so the more we can do to stay healthy, by eating healthy, exercising, things like that, the safer all of us are going to be, and the less pressure we put on our health care workers.”
Roth has experienced first-hand the value of quality health care.
“A couple of years ago I had a heart attack, and I ended up spending a lot of time over at our Hilo Medical Center and learning a little about what happens there,” he said. “I had so many positive experiences while I was at the hospital and watching how hard our health care professionals work, especially the nurses and doctors.”
The Hilo State Building Lanai on Aupuni Street was packed with informational resources about mental health, nursing, family health services, COVID-19, developmental disabilities services and other topics.
“We had a good turnout from the public, and I think this is a very nice thing to have to help the public understand what we do for public health and what kind of resources are available to them,” Kolman said. “It’s good to have these partners and that we talk to each other and grow these partnerships with events like this.”
Services also were available at the event, including free blood panel stations and other laboratory testing.
Live entertainment including a soul line dance performance and a tai chi workshop were supported through sponsorships from organizations like Rotary Club of South Hilo, The Food Basket, the Hawaii County Office of Aging and the American Red Cross, among others.
Information about many health services available in Hawaii County can be found by visiting https://health.hawaii.gov.
“As we saw during the pandemic, problems can grow very large for one agency or one organization to handle,” Kolman said. “But when we work together, we find that a collaborative process is a much better solution for the community, and we’re much more able to respond to the community’s needs.”
Email Grant Phillips at gphillips@hawaiitribune-herald.com.