 Think Tech Hawaii, civil engagement lives here. Hello Han, welcome to Out and About on Think Tech Live streaming network series, broadcast from our downtown studio at Pioneer Plaza, the core downtown Honolulu from Winston-Welt and delighted you're joining us today. Where every other week we explore a variety of topics, organizations, events and the people who fuel them in our city, state, country and world. As a disclaimer, any views or opinions expressed by me are strictly my own and not connected with any organization. That said, joining me in the studio today, I am so delighted to have Liz Makara, director of emergency operations and community wellness at Waikiki Health. And Liz now oversees the agency's entire emergency operation plan, annual testings and training on a community based level. Additionally, she's managing the friendly neighbors program, which is a free in-home assistance to seniors in Waikiki, along with managing the smoking sensation program. So today we're gonna continue our discussion about how Waikiki Health has been of service over 50 years to the community with a lot of vital services and programs that it offers in medical care, preventative care and social services. So with that introduction, I would like to welcome you to the show today, Liz. Oh, thanks so much for having me. It's great to be here, representing Waikiki Health Winston. Well, thank you so much. And you know, we are continuing this conversation from before when we had Phyllis Dendall here, who is a chair, I'm sorry, she's a board of directors member. Yeah, I believe chair of marketing. She's chair of marketing. And what a terrific lady she was. And just like you, a real passionate, dedicated, lovely human being who really wants to give back to the community in just who she is. And you're very lucky in this regard that you are able to do that in your work. So tell me about how did you get involved with Waikiki Health and why did you get involved with Waikiki Health? Well, Winston, I've been with Waikiki Health actually next week. Actually, this week, it's been five years. Oh, happy anniversary. Yeah, thank you. So I actually was working in a completely different field and I was volunteering on a board with the Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii. And I really enjoyed the contribution I could make there and felt a real sense of fulfillment that I started asking myself, maybe I could move into nonprofit full-time. So I started reaching out to some CEOs and some EDs that I knew in the community and asked if they'd give me some informational interviews. And I ended up connecting with the chief of marketing and development at the time back in 2013 of Waikiki Health. And we had just connected and six months later she reached out to me with a position that was available in marketing and development. And so I made the leap in 2013 and it's just been an extraordinary experience to work for this agency. Oh, I bet it has. And I know you've got quite a visionary leader there and other staff members that you work with. So your position has grown and expanded over the years as well or additional responsibilities coming in. Yeah, absolutely. Sheila Beckham, our CEO, she is a visionary and so innovative and such a strong leader. And she, I feel, offers all of us at the organization many opportunities for professional development. So I was with the marketing and development department for four years and that was overseen by Mary Beth Lowman and had a wonderful time growing through that department. Waikiki Health actually offered a program that was funded through the Hawaii Community Foundation a couple of years ago called Growing Leaders and it was a six month program for up and coming leadership. And so it's just evolved from there and now I'm doing emergency operations and community wellness. So you've shifted out of the marketing and development part into this newer position? Yep. Okay, and was this a position created for you or is it a new position? It is a new position. Yes, it is. The programs that I'm working with are not new programs. Friendly Neighbors has been around since 89. Tobacco cessation, we've been doing that for many years as well. Emergency preparedness and emergency operations as a position that has really evolved and it is a growing needed field in our country and definitely our state, specifically in healthcare. So there were new mandates to comply with as of last year for healthcare facilities and emergency preparedness. So that garnered the new role. And that's because you're a federally qualified healthcare facility or is that exactly the right nomenclature? Yeah, yeah, FQHC, so federally qualified health center. And yes, that's one of the reasons why we have to comply with these new rules for emergency preparedness. It's actually all healthcare facilities in the nation that offer CMS, so that's Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services. So Medicare and Medicaid has mandated that we comply with new emergency preparedness rules. Which is almost every hospital or clinic in the nation. That's right, yeah. I mean, except a few, I can't think of, I mean, maybe plastic surgery clinics or something, don't do that, but either way, some private ones. So actually, tell us about that. What kind of emergency preparedness which are we talking about, like tsunamis or? Well, yeah, of course in our state, tsunamis, hurricanes, ballistic missile. Yes, it's unfortunate, yes. Low risk, high vulnerability. But essentially for the emergency preparedness, there's four core areas, and that is risk assessment, having policies and procedures in place, having communications plans in place and having annuals, trainings and testings. So all healthcare facilities are required to do an annual risk assessment for its top risks. So it varies from location from state to state, but for here in Hawaii, absolutely, tsunamis, hurricanes. Earthquakes. Earthquakes, absolutely. So it would be, how does the ages? Supply shortages. Power shortages. Supply shortages. Supply shortages, right. So it might be something that there's an earthquake. How able is our healthcare center to respond or what would we do in that circumstance or both of those? Both of those things, yeah. So for each of our risks, we have policies and procedures that we train our staff on. So how we would actually respond in the moment. So for example, there's an earthquake, the protocol is to drop, cover, hold on. So yeah, get out of the way of windows or things that could fall down, drop, cover the back of your head or cover yourself under a solid piece of furniture and hold on. And so we prepare our staff to be able to respond to protect our own safety and then we have extended policies so we can respond to the community to help out. Well, I'm really glad that the federal government is mandating this and probably some states have stricter trainings. I imagine like California is probably, or maybe California set the standard, I don't know. Right, right. Well, nationwide we're definitely seeing this year more than ever with the wildfires in California, the hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico. We're seeing the need for this standard. But it is basic because you think about, you don't ever want a horrible something to happen, but in case it does, you absolutely want people to be trained, ready to go and then be able to go. Yeah, prepared and ready to respond. And so you can work with other agencies or other hospitals as well on this? Absolutely, we have many community partners. We work with an organization called the HHEMC, that's the Hawaii Health Care Emergency Management Coalition. So we're a coalition member. Most healthcare facilities and hospital in the state we're all members, so we meet monthly and we do all sorts of trainings and testings together. And like I mentioned, we're community partners. So we have a real tight network coalition to work together. Interesting, did you imagine that you'd be doing this when you were in college? No. What did you major in? Communication. Communication, but you know what? That is so critical, that is exactly what it is. It's like having the plan of being able to write. So I always say, liberal arts majors, if I tell people get a liberal arts degree, learn how to communicate, learn how to write succinctly, learn how to speak, learn how to be sympathetic and learn other ways of communication, non-verbal and other languages and all kinds of things. So your background maybe has prepared you for this in some way, but you can never imagine this, like people telling us you'd be doing this, that or the other and you think no way. But anyway, that sounds like really a fun and challenging work every day that you get to go to. It really is, it really is. I feel super grateful that I have a job that I absolutely love and I work with incredible people as well. And there are new fun challenges every day that keep me motivated and stimulated and challenged and always learning and growing. And are you down at the Waikiki facility? Well, our main clinic is on Ohua Avenue, right in Waikiki. I actually work in our administration offices and that is at the corner of Makali and King, Mo'ili'ili. Oh, okay, so, well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to go over just an overview of everything that Waikiki help does because I don't think people realize how comprehensive your services are and then if we could touch on some specific programs that you're specifically managing with tobacco cessation and the friendly neighbors and we won't have time to get through everything. So just a spoiler alert. And we'll have to have you back another time because this program has even evolved since the last time that I was here and a big shout out to Mary Beth for helping and everybody who helped her prepare if there was anybody else. These wonderful slides that we have up. So with that, let's just go over the, some of our slides that we've got. So Waikiki Health, really great graphics here, medical and dental preventative care and social services. So you are a federally qualified health center that provides access for medical and social services for everyone regardless of ability to pay. Yes. So is that part of the federally qualified health center designation? Yes, absolutely. We are, we're the folks that offer the folks without healthcare or insurance, the medical care and the social services that they need. And so if I don't have insurance, can I just come to your clinic? Absolutely. Yeah, and we actually have navigators to help you find the type of insurance that would be the right fit for you. And also if need be to be on a sliding scale of any kind as well. So if I don't have insurance or maybe I don't even know if I qualify or whatever, I can just say, look, I've been out of work for three months and I need my tooth pulled or my eyes been bugging me or whatever. And I can't go to, I can't afford to go to the doctor. I can come to you all. Yeah, and we have, like I said, a specialist, her name's Cheryl and she's wonderful and she'll sit down with you and help you find all the resources you need. So you will get the care that you need. So that's really nice to hear. You have a guide to help you navigate the system. Which can be so, so hard to navigate the system. I think even with people that have every resource available to them of time and brains and patients to navigate a insurance and everything. Absolutely, it can be very daunting. You know, we have one of the most comprehensive HIV programs in the state and Cheryl is just an amazing resource for these folks to get the services and the medications and the insurance that they need. So people might just show up at the Ahua clinic and say, can you help me? Yep. And that's it. And we're here to help, yep. Okay, so I see you've got some, what we offer here, you've got clinics in Waikiki, Makoli, Ili Ili and the Diamond Head Clinic. What's the Diamond Head Clinic? Oh, no, Diamond Head neighborhoods. Okay, that's probably the Salvation Army. Yeah, you're probably thinking of the PATH clinic, which is the perinatal addiction treatment home of Hawaii located in Kaimuki right close to Diamond Head. Okay, so some of the other things that you do offer there of what we offer is the primary preventative care. So basic care, integrated behavioral health. So this is mental health care. Absolutely, yep. Okay, and we've got dental care, which is amazing. Yep. Ease, eyes and teeth and drugs, right? You've got the pharmacy and it's a full service pharmacy? Two pharmacies actually. In our Moe Ili Ili clinic, the Makihiki Medical and Dental Clinic, which opened in 2014. We have a full pharmacy there and at our Ahua clinic. And can anybody go to this pharmacy and say I got a prescription from my doctor and fill it there? I believe so. Basically, yeah, I think anyone could come into our pharmacies. They're right in our clinics, so. It's designed for the people that are right in the clinic. Yeah, yeah, but I mean, you can pop in there and get everything from like a, if you need some Advil or like an antihistamine, absolutely, or a prescriptive medicine. So they sell Tylenol on the shelf? Or the Ibuprofen or. I see, okay, okay. So while you have that there, like you said, very comprehensive HIV aid services, women's health, tobacco cessation, medical nutrition therapy, chronic disease management, which is also really important. Diabetes. I'm guessing mostly diabetes. Native Hawaiian healing, that's very interesting and we'll talk about that when we get back in care coordination. These are probably two really big things that we don't realize how hard it is. It's part of that navigating the system and how do you even work through it when maybe you're not well and you don't have the other support that can help you navigate through that. And that includes then the Medicaid and marketplace insurance enrollment. So all of these things are offered. It's a social medical solution for people. Right, we offer so many wraparound services and like you mentioned, the care coordination. We do a lot of kind of what's called a warm handoff. So if one of our providers or our doctors is seeing a patient where behavioral health is recommended, they'll literally walk across the hall or bring in one of the psychologists and introduce them right then and there instead of like a referral that happens weeks later. That's great. Yeah, and that's just one example of the many wraparound services that we offer. Well, we got a few more that we'll look at as far as what you offer and then we'll go into some specific programs. But for just a moment, we're gonna take a break so they can do what we used to call in the olden days, station identification. But probably we'll just call it a short break and I'm Winston Welch. This is out and about on Think Tech Live Streaming Network Series and we are talking with Liz Makara of Waikiki Health back in a minute. So stay tuned for more of the story. So we do it. Aloha, my name is Mark Schwab. I am the host of Think Tech Hawaii's Law Across the Sea. Law Across the Sea comes on every other Monday at 11 a.m. Please join us. I like to bring in guests that talk about all types of things that come across the sea to Hawaii. Not just law, love, people, ideas, history. Please join us for Law Across the Sea. Aloha. Aloha, I'm Richard Concepcion, the host of Hispanic Hawaii. You can watch my show every other Tuesday at 2 p.m. We will bring you entertainment, educational, and also we'll tell you what is happening right here within our community. Think Tech Hawaii. Aloha. Aloha, we're back and we're live. I am Winston Welch and this is out and about on Think Tech Live Streaming Network Series. We're talking with Liz Makara, Director of Emergency Operations and Community Wellness at Waikiki Health about the programs and services it offers and some of the things that she's offering in conjunction with this, which is really neat. So we were just going over some of the many things that you offer and you were talking about the wraparound service and a warm handoff so that people could, they might see someone and be right introduced across the hall and said this is the lady who's gonna help you next or the gentleman who's gonna help you next. That's so awesome because a lot of the times I think you're just, you know, if you're able to handle your own care even then, if you feel kind of, you know, so you got the, you also managed the Next Step Emergency Shelter in Kakaako. Sure do. You have Housing Placement Assistance. Yeah. And then Homeless Youth Services. Tell us a little bit about that. What is that? We have a program called Youth Outreach and Waikiki Health actually partners with another nonprofit, Heli Keepa. And so we have a great location in Waikiki in the heart of Waikiki where we run fondly known as YO Youth Outreach. And our staff there, they work with homeless and runaway, quote unquote, at risk youth where they actually do outreach to the homeless youth in Waikiki. And the house there, it's like a little cottage and it really is a place of refuge for these kids where they can go and they can trust they'll have like the positive guidance and resources that they need. They can come there for a hot meal, hot showers. They can do their laundry there. They can get their, the equivalent of the GED. They can get assistance with job placement, sorry. And learn interviewing skills, help with their education. Our tobacco cessation services are there. Wonderful programs to counteract against unwanted pregnancies and whatnot, so really great program. Yeah, really important to have that, especially for kids that are beyond the margin where they just absolutely need someone else stepping in because a lot of these, because I was just in the paper the other day about kids on the street and a fifth of them are LGBTQ and they've either been forced out of their house or had to leave for some reason and that's a lot. I mean, just for that population alone, but there's every story that they hear there. Lots of difficulties and it's so nice that this service exists and those are probably some really special people that staff that you, is that what you call it? Yo, yo, yo. Yeah, so that's, I would love to talk about that at another time because you also have a mail service for your homeless, white, key health patients. So you unfortunately have a massive, homeless, homeless population. Yeah, and that's a service that we've offered for many years. You know, a barrier to more livelihood and services is definitely having a mailing address. So we provide them a mailing address so they can come and pick up their mail at our clinic. That's really great to hear that and you have some job training skills too as well for all kinds of folks, the outreach medical services of the caravan. So that is something that goes out into the community at regular stops in regular places. Yeah, so it's called the MMU, that's what we call it, MMU. It's a mobile medical unit. It's parked actually at our next step shelter, but it goes all over the island and now it's being used in the Pu'au Honua program visiting the prisons as well. So that's a wonderful service that we offered. Like it's one stop shop, whole medical exam room on wheels. So the Pu'au Honua program, that's a new one. So tell us about that. Really, Auntie Fran, our director of native Hawaiian healing, she is the expert and she is the leader of this program. So she can speak about it in a much more robust way, but they're going out to the local prisons and they're working with the folks there who are about to come out, making sure that they have the resources they need for medical care, services, shelter, so they don't end up going back. Yes, so it's absolutely critical that we bring people back into society in a manner that allows them to thrive. Absolutely. And obviously they've had troubles, which is why they got in the system in the first place. And if we don't provide needed support and we just say here, you're back, we're just setting them up for failure. Absolutely, so that's why this program is so extraordinary and it's wonderful that we're offering it and it's awesome that Auntie Fran is able to spearhead it. I would love to hear more about that too. Another day, this is new since the last time, or perhaps why I just say get to it with Phyllis because there's so many different things to talk about. So tell me about the senior assistance program which is your friendly neighbors program because this is something that must be very, this is your own Kuliana, I guess. So how did it start, what's its history and how many people does it serve and tell me all about this program? Sure, so friendly neighbors started back in the 80s in 1989 and so we actually received funding through the EAD or the program goes through the elderly affairs division. Funding comes through the state and then through the city of County. And so we offer two kinds of services. We offer attendant care services and homemaker services. So we work with volunteers in the community to work with seniors in their home. So we match up seniors with volunteers and attendant care is basically providing companionship, friendship, helping them out around the house, going for a walk, maybe do a little grocery shopping for them, playing cards, homemaker services, that we have a full-time staff who's incredible with the seniors who offers light housekeeping, cleaning, dusting, mopping and we also match volunteers with the seniors to offer them that housekeeping service. And this is at no charge to the seniors and it's incredibly important because many of these seniors are low income and they don't have family of their own or support and we're helping them age in place. So we are allowing them to stay in their home and bring the services to them. Would this be something where maybe we have a neighbor or a friend who's, they're doing okay, just kind of okay but they could use a little bit more support. Maybe it's someone to drive them to the market or meet them at the market and help them go shopping or take them to Longs or your pharmacy and get their medical checkup and their medications. Absolutely, that's definitely part of it. Some of our volunteers do do that. We'll run errands for them or with them and provide them the friendship and companionship that they need as well, yep. How, so obviously you have a system where you're intaking volunteers as well. How does that work? Do we go online and make an application or? Yeah, so we do all sorts of things to recruit volunteers in the community. We have partnerships with like KCC, U8, Shamanad. So we do like local school fairs and whatnot where we represent friendly neighbors, Wiki Health friendly neighbors and we encourage students to sign up. Many students have to do volunteer hours for their practicum, so it's a good fit and of course we want to encourage them even after any practicum must be done to hopefully continue their relationship and friendship with the senior and many of them do as well. And then we also work with online programs like Volunteer Match, even Craigslist, organization called RSVP to recruit volunteers. And are you in need of more volunteers at this time? We're always in need of volunteers, yes, yeah, because we receive referrals from the EAD, the elderly affairs division, for the seniors who need our services and so we check in with them on a daily basis and then recruit the volunteers, meet the volunteers, they fill out a volunteer application, they go through a background check and then our elder services coordinator will get to know them a little bit and get to know each of the seniors individually and match them because we want to have like a sustainable friendship and partnership there. So it might be someone says I have five hours a week to give and I need five hours a week or you might have someone that needs 10 hours a week but two people doing five hours a week each on a shift. Yeah, yeah. And then one other program which, that's a wonderful program by the way and just so important because it's connection, it's community, it's bringing people together in a very powerful and important way so I can just, that must be very gratifying, you know. Absolutely, you know, we have so much and I have so much respect for our kupuna and I feel like this program helps them them maintain a sense of dignity too as they age. Like I mentioned, it's them aging in place, we're bringing services to them. We have many other community partners that we work with through the EAD, like for example Meals on Wheels or Project Donna or several other services, St. Francis provides them the services they need. So it's very special, yeah. And that's something where if they called in and they say I'm a senior, I could really use some help, you might be calling in Meals on Wheels or coordinating some care with some other agencies as well. Well, it's actually the EAD, Elderly Affairs Division that would do the assessment to the seniors and organize those extensive other programs but our volunteers, they let us know because sometimes you know a volunteer and it is in the home a few hours a week, exactly. So it's a really important service. Well, it sounds like just a wonderful program so if we wanted more information about this we can go to wankykeyhealth.org. Yep, sure can. Or you can call our friendly neighbors program at 926-8032 as well. Okay, and I see that you have the senior care, the senior assistants handbook. This is made by Elderly Affairs Division of the city and county of Honolulu. Yep, so we empower all of our volunteers with this resource as well and our seniors. We give this to all of them too. It's a wonderful resource, you know, if the seniors, excuse me, having some issues with taxes or need to discern what their next step is, all of that information is here from taxes to legal. That should be sent out to every single household in this state as far as I'm concerned. Really, yeah. You know, we did not have time to even get to your smoking cessation program which I know is also near and dear to your heart because you have to come back another time when you promise and talk about this. I would love to. Because it's very important for us too to stop smoking and we get benefits immediately out of that. The whole community does. The whole community, but unfortunately, I cannot believe it, that's why I told you this is just a race by, so you will come back again and we can talk about that and other programs. Yeah. That would be wonderful and I really appreciate you being here today. Thank you so much, Winston, for having me. It's my pleasure and again, we're out of time and we have to wrap it up. Unfortunately, I'm Winston Welton out and about Think Tech Live Streaming Network series and we have had a delightful time talking with Liz MacCara, the Director of Emergency Operations and Community Wellness, which we have a lot more to talk about at Waikiki Health and we certainly appreciate learning a lot more about this wonderful organization. For more on today's topic, more info, go to Waikikihelth.org. So many wonderful programs there. Thank you for tuning in. We welcome your feedback and we wanna thank our broadcast engineer, Ian Davidson, our technical producer, Ray Sangalang, our floor manager, Robert McLean and to Jay Fidel, our executive producer, who puts it all together and we learn a lot here on Think Tech for all these great programs. So I will see you here every other Monday at 3 p.m. I will see Liz here in the future for more on out and about on Think Tech Hawaii. Aloha everyone. Aloha.