Posted on: Monday, October 7, 2002

Kalihi health center wins award

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

A community health center in Kalihi has earned national recognition by the Department of Health and Human Services for its women's healthcare program.

Kokua Kalihi Valley, a nonprofit community health center, was selected as a National Community Center of Excellence in Women's Health this month, one of only 12 in the nation and one of four chosen this year.

The award provides the center with $150,000 each year for the next five years.

"We all feel very proud and honored," said Dr. Moe Mya Hla, maternal and child health coordinator and assistant clinical director. "The comprehensiveness that we're able to provide to women. That's something we're proud of. And we believe this commitment is why we got the award."

A substantial portion of the monetary award will help finance the women's healthcare program at the newly formed Kaua'i Community Health Center.

"I'm pleased that our program ... encompasses such a broad range of healthcare for women," said Jory Watland, executive director of Kokua Kalihi Valley. "We provide the whole range of healthcare system from conception to birth that relates to women and their relationships with their family, each other and the health center."

For 30 years Kokua Kalihi Valley has focused on improving the health and well-being of the community, in particular the valley's large population of Asian and Pacific Island women. Its women's program started in the mid-1970s, when the center opened a shelter for abused women and children.

The growth of the center — from a first-year allocation of about $28,000 to the current $4.5 million annual budget — illustrates the demand for healthcare services in this community, which has more than 25,000 residents, according to a 2000 census.

Kokua Kalihi Valley provides a range of healthcare services, including preventive care, reproductive health, family planning, nutrition services, behavioral health and substance-abuse counseling. The center also aims to increase public education, conduct outreach activities, even help women find careers in the healthcare profession.

What sets Kokua Kalihi Valley apart from other health centers is its sensitivity to and knowledge of different cultures. Serving an area with diverse ethnic groups, it helps to have a staff that speaks 17 languages.

"They know the culture and the language," Hla said. "We can really serve the community in a culturally competent way."

In addition to being named a national community center, Kokua Kalihi Valley has been selected as one of three sites in Hawai'i to be visited by the Presidential Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

"Our mission statement has always been the same: to be an agent of health and reconciliation of health for the Kalihi Valley community," Watland said. "And this program epitomizes that."