For more information on the training, please contact Alison Rowland-Ciszek at (808) 791-7824 or arciszek@hawaiipca.net.

ROBERT HIROKAWA NAMED
HPCA’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

HONOLULU, HI, NOVEMBER 4, 2011 – The Board of Directors of the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association (HPCA) announced the selection of Robert Hirokawa, DrPH as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Hirokawa assumes leadership of the organization at a critical juncture. With health care transformation a significant priority in Hawai‘i, other members of the health care community will continue to look to HPCA for its trusted, unique leadership.

“HPCA remains committed to providing the stewardship necessary to address Hawai‘i’s health care challenges,” said Sheila Beckham, Chair of the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association’s Board of Directors. “Robert will continue to nurture the positive relationships with our partners that have been developed over the last few years.”

Previously an epidemiologist with the Department of Health and the Healthy Hawai‘i Initiative,
Dr. Hirokawa was also responsible for the development of the department’s Science and Research Group. He was most recently HPCA’s Chief Information Officer, overseeing the provision of technical assistance to Hawai‘i’s fourteen community health centers.

“I look forward to working with our members and partners to address the health care challenges facing our state,” Hirokawa said. “Although HPCA’s CEO has changed our central mission hasn’t, and that’s advocating for quality, affordable health care for everyone in Hawai‘i.”

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As HPCA's Board Chair Sheila Beckham wrote in the report, "For years, HPCA has been a reliable conduit for bringing diverse community interests together in the service of a greater good, and we remain committed to providing that necessary leadership in the years to come."

View the Annual Report online here: 2011 HPCA Annual Report Online

Download a copy here: 2011 HPCA Annual Report

In its editorial, the Star-Advertiser detailed the challenges of our current health care environment: decreasing reimbursements, tightened state and federal budgets, provider shortages and infrastructure. Quoting directly from HPCA's October 2010 report "Planning the Future of Community Health Centers in Hawaii," lawmakers were encouraged to support the work of health centers and social determinants like workforce development.

"If not for the health centers, many of these patients would end up in the emergency rooms of hospitals, which must then raise rates that are pass on to the insured. Dysfunction is costly for everyone."

For the complete editorial, go to the Star-Advertiser website (premium access required): Community Health Centers Last Line of Defense.

GOVERNOR ABERCROMBIE NAMES BETH GIESTING, HPCA’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AS HAWAI‘I’S HEALTH CARE TRANSFORMATION ‘CZAR’

HONOLULU, HI, JULY 28, 2011 – The Hawai‘i Primary Care Association (HPCA) is proud to announce that its Chief Executive Officer, Beth Giesting, has been named by Governor Abercrombie as Hawai‘i’s Health Care Transformation Coordinator.

This new position is vital to the state’s efforts to transform the health care system through innovation, collaboration, and patient-centered care. In her role as Transformation Coordinator, Ms. Giesting will help steer all elements of the health care system in the state toward adoption and implementation of cost-effective, quality-oriented models.

“As we saw during the last legislative session, issues related to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act aren’t simply limited to funding,” Ms. Giesting said. “There are very real systemic changes we need to put into place so that – through innovation and collaboration – we can heal our health care system.”

Ms. Giesting has been CEO of the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association for more than sixteen years, and has helped guide the association and its fourteen Community Health Center members through triple-digit growth over the last decade.

On her new role Giesting said, “I appreciate the Governor’s nomination to this post, and recognize it as a tribute to the leadership that Hawai‘i’s community health centers, their partners, and the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association have shown. I look forward to working with all stakeholders to bring about a New Day in Hawai‘i’s health care system.”

Read the Governor's announcement here: Giesting Named Transformation Coordinator

About the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association
Established in 1988, the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association is the voice for the future of health care in our state, delivered through Community Health Centers that employ a personalized, comprehensive, and attentive approach that emphasizes person-centered wellness, care coordination, and disease prevention. For more information please visit http://www.hawaiipca.net.
 

On April 26th the Hawai'i Primary Care Association was one of several organizations that testified before the House and Senate Human Services Committees on the devastating effects of proposed budget cuts to Medicaid.

To meet the $150 million in cuts ordered by the Administration, the Department of Human Services is being forced to cut access, cut enrollment, and cut benefits. HPCA, along with hospital organizations and providers, briefed lawmakers on the consequences of the cuts, including:

• Elimination of health insurance coverage for over 11,000 children;
• Driving health care costs up through increased use of emergency room services by those without access to care;
• Crippling Hawai'i's network of CHCs by creating the largest number of uninsured in nearly a decade.

An excellent report on the hearing was done by Hawai'i Public Radio. Listen to the brief newscast on their website: HPR , or on our website here.

After the hearing, HPCA's presentation, which detailed how Hawai'i's working poor are being asked to do more than anyone to balance the budget, was shared with all legislators in both the House and Senate.

• The presentation can be viewed here.
• HPCA's oral testimony can be viewed here.

In a meeting Monday night nearly a hundred community members gathered in a statewide town hall forum to discuss proposed cuts to the state's Medicaid program, which serves 20% of Hawai'i's population. Representatives from the Department of Human Services, which administers Medicaid, briefed meeting participants on proposals to reduce health care expenditures by more than $150 million. Residents and health center advocates proposed a number of alternatives intended to spread the pain of cuts more equitably, and to mitigate the dangerous effects the cuts will have to patient health.

See the news story on KITV: State looking to Cut Medicaid

Star-Advertiser: Medicaid Cuts of $180 Million Warned

The development of statewide recognition for the patient-centered health care home (PCHCH) was part of the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association’s legislative package this year, introduced as Senate Bill 1468.  The measure was intended to establish a Medicaid Modernization and Innovation Council to develop a health care home model for Medicaid.

 Pursuit of this goal required development of partnerships that demonstrated community-wide acceptance of and support for the PCHCH. To do this, HPCA solicited the participation of an unprecedented statewide coalition that brought together a diverse set of consumers, health plans, providers, hospitals, and associations, all of whom stood ready to roll up their sleeves and do the difficult work of creating a community-based PCHCH model for Medicaid.

 The Department of Human Services strongly opposed the health care home bill throughout the session, and we have not been able to reach any compromise on a community-based process to develop a model that allows meaningful participation of our partners. Ultimately, the Department's opposition to community-based development of the PCHCH created a level of concern among leaders in the Legislature, and SB1468 was deferred this week.

Given this, and the current political and fiscal environment, we think our energies will be better served addressing the massive potential cuts to Medicaid and retention of adequate funds for the uninsured. Therefore, HPCA is indefinitely suspending its PCHCH legislative effort. 

We continue to believe that the patient-centered health care home is an essential part of our future, and know that health centers can, must, and do play a vital role. We will continue to support that role to the extent that our resources allow, and will continue to press for more openness, collaboration, and supportive leadership from the Administration. Until then, HPCA will work with its health centers and partners to advance the work, in our communities, and with each other, to develop a seamless system of care that functions in the best interests of all.

Mahalo for your continued support, and for all that you do in our communities.

Like nearly all nonprofit organizations, HPCA has recently faced the stark reality created by our continuing economic crisis:  the twin burdens of increased demand for services and reduced resources to meet those needs.

As a result of significant reductions in funding for its activities, HPCA has been forced to reexamine how it can best fulfill the basic and essential elements of its mission.  Effective January 1, 2012, HPCA will reduce both the scope and intensity of its program activities for Federally Qualified Health Centers and other health care stakeholders. This service reduction will also include permanent staff layoffs at HPCA.

While we manage the transition to a smaller, more focused organization, all of the activities, projects, and programs that are planned and budgeted for calendar year 2011 will continue unabated. The transition of our services, and the effect it will have on our members and partners, is something we will resolve in the coming months and communicate to stakeholders as soon as possible.

Once again, we appreciate your continued support, and thank you for all the work that you do on behalf of our communities. 

The full press release from AlohaCare can be found on their website here.

In an effort to clear the air of statements made about the patient-centered medical home and transformation of Medicaid, the Hawaii Primary Care Association created the first in a series of rebuttals to help health center advocates and policy makers separate fact from fiction.

Read the first Counterpoint here. 

Governor Abercrombie, speaking to community health center staff, board members, and advocates this past Wednesday,  set aside the proclamation he was presenting to emphasize that his commitment to working in partnership with CHCs went beyond ritual. 

“I have friends in this room, long-time friends, from before today and before the campaign,” the Governor said, reiterating that his support for the work of health centers has been long-standing. Abercrombie was recognized by the National Association for Community Health Centers in 2010 as a Distinguished Community Health Champion for his work in Congress.

In unprepared remarks, the Governor spoke at length about the vital role health centers play not just in the current system of care, but also to their position at the forefront of reform by providing quality health care at an affordable cost.

Health centers will be an essential part of helping the state resolve its Medicaid crisis, provide care to the thousands of uninsured, and also prepare the way for implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Raising the profile and public awareness of health centers is an immediate first step. 

Speaking of how health centers set the standard for the way health care must be transformed, the Governor said, “We have a mechanism in this state. We have an institutional capacity to…provide health care in a way that perhaps not everybody has thought of. It's efficient, it's effective, it's cost effective.” 

As the backbone of Hawai‘i’s primary care system, community health centers are at the vanguard of efforts to transform health care, and will continue, in partnership with the administration, policy makers, and other health care organizations, actively promote patient-centered wellness consistent with the Governor’s call for living a “pono” lifestyle.

Pictures from "Live.Well." (2011 Community Health Center Day) can be found on HPCA's Facebook page: here.

Learn more about these vital issues, the cause of community health centers, and the communities that they serve:

HPCA Legislative Priorities 2011

Nearly 8,000 people are affected by the ruling, which may be appealed.

Star Advertiser: Migrant Health Coverage Restored

OCTOBER 26, 2010: Republican gubernatorial candidate Duke Aiona and his running mate Lynn Finnegan met today with the staff and board members of the Hawaii Primary Care Association, and shared their vision for the future of health care in our state. The one-hour meeting included a comprehensive discussion of critical health policy issues affecting Community Health Centers and underserved populations, including:

• Medicaid reimbursement and enrollment
• Tort reform
• Renewed focus on preventive medicine and personal accountability
• Physician recruitment
• Potential solutions for infrastructure needs
• The role of Community Health Centers in improving the lives of Hawaii's people

Both candidates reaffirmed their commitment to working with the Hawaii Primary Care Association, its health center members, and other organizations in a bipartisan, collaborative way to better plan and implement smart growth strategies. Over two dozen staff and board members from the following health centers participated in the meeting today:

• Hana Health
• Kalihi-Palama Health Center
• Waikiki Health Center
• Hamakua Health Center
• West Hawaii Community Health Center
• Malama I Ke Ola Health Center
• Ke Ola Mamo
• Molokai Health Center
• Lanai Health Center
• Ho'ola Lahui Hawaii

Learn more about health center growth planning in the Hawaii Primary Care Association report, "Planning the Future of Community Health Centers in Hawaii."

 "This is an incredible and timely opportunity for our health centers in Hawaii, most of which have been struggling to keep pace with the demand for services over the last ten years," said Beth Giesting, CEO of the Hawaii Primary Care Association.

 Although Hawaii's health centers have grown tremendously since 2000, their growth has been hampered by the high cost of doing business in Hawaii. The most direct effect of this has been greater difficulty in expanding existing facilities or building new ones to help health centers meet the still significant need that remains in their communities.

 A complete list of the awards can be found on the HHS website at: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2010pres/10/chc_chart.html

 More information about the two health centers who were awarded the capital grants, explore our CHC roster:

Bay Clinic

Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center