Professional Support Groups

The professional support groups – also called "peer mentoring groups" – form a critical nexus of the Hawaii Primary Care Association’s Technical Assistance (TA) program.

The objectives of the professional support group program include:

• Creation and maintenance of an effective venue for staff from Hawaii’s 13 community  health centers to meet, to create solutions and to share skills, knowledge and resources thereby increasing the staffs’ capacity for helping the communities, families and patients heal.
• To foster professionally and personally supportive relationships among staff from the different health centers:
  • To make them more effective in their jobs;
  • To increase retention and job satisfaction;
  • To decrease the isolation typically experienced by professionals facing the unique demands of the community health center environment; and
  • To decrease CHC dependence on mainland expertise and resources.

The program’s principle format is group mentoring, organized by professional areas. These include:

• Behavioral Health Providers
• Billing and Reimbursement Managers
• CHC Board Leadership
• Chief Financial Officers
• Dental Directors
• Human Resource Managers
• New Start Health Centers

Each group identifies its own training and networking priorities, format, and agenda, typically meeting once per quarter or during monthly conference calls as appropriate.

For more information on the professional support groups, please contact Matthew Nagato