Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 3, 1 Malaki 2011 — STRIVING FOR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

STRIVING FOR

Joseph Kaholokula is the new Ghair of the UH medical school's Department of Native Hawaiian Health By Melissa Moniz The path that brought Joseph Keawe'aimoku Kaholokula to the Department of Native Hawaiian Heahh is as exciting as the path he hopes to create in his newly appointed position as Chair.

Kaholokula brings with him education, experience and passion to a department that has seen tremendous growth since it transitioned in 2002 from a task force and program to a elinieal department that resides in the John A. Burns School of Medicine within the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. "The real reason our department is in existence is through the support from The Queen's Health Systems because they provided the iniīial start-up money of $5 million," says Kaholokula. "We have been able to leverage the funds from Queen's to get additional support through federal funds." Through partnerships and an unfaltering mission to achieve optimal Native Hawaiian heahh, DNHH has created a unified foundation that Kaholokula is anxious to build upon.

HEALTHY HAWAIIANS

"Some of my goals is to bring sustainability to our department," he adds. "We need more support so we ean broaden our reach and eonhnue to grow. "We also need to look at how social, eeonomie and such factors affect Native Hawaiian heahh. I want to expand community partnerships because I really feel answers won't eome from just one discipline, and in my experience I have found that the community actually holds more of the answers. Perhaps all we hold is the ability to move that forward for them." As a Native Hawaiian who was born and raised in Honolulu by parents who struggled to make ends meet with eaeh working two jobs, Kaholokula understands firsthand the need to have strong community-based support. "I never liked school, so when I graduated from McKinley High School (in 1987) with a 1.8 GPA I immediately went into the workforce," says Kaholokula. "For five years I worked full-

time delivering furniture and such and I thought it was great, but fortunately some things happened along the way that turned me on to the possibility of going to college. "This was during the time of the ( 100th anniversary of the) overthrow and I got really into the movement. One day my girlfriend at the time saw an ad in the paper for free Hawaiian-language courses for Native Hawaiians and told me about it because she knew I had wanted to leam the language. I took the classes and it changed my life." Learning the language sparked the idea of going to college, something Kaholokula admits he never considered. After hearing that a friend was headed to Kapi'olani Community College, he decided to tag along to take more Hawaiian language courses. "The problem was I had no priority as a new student, so the only way to register for the class was to take other courses, so I did," he adds. "It

wasn't until my third semester that I could take a Hawaiian-language course and by then I had taken a few courses and got a 4.0 GPA. "Long story short, Hawaiian language got me to college. I then transferred to UH to study psychology. And I just continued on to a Ph.D. (in elinieal psychology)." Kaholokula's psychology studies introduced him to growing challenges facing Native Hawaiian heahh. He worked with a Native Hawaiian heahh research project in the eommu-

nities on Kaua'i and the Big Island, where he started as volunteer and was eventually was hired as a student assistant.

SEE KAH0L0KULA ON PAOE 25

Chair Joseph Keawe'aimoku Kaholokula at a reception held in his honor, Feb. 1 1 at the medical school. - Photo: LisaAsato

KAH0L0KULA

Continued from page 17 DNHH's ongoing community involvement is an integral part of achieving its mission of optimal Native Hawaiian heahh. Partnerships with health organizations allow DNHH to heeome a part of a team working toward improving the heahh of Native Hawaiians. "We have several divisions: research, elinieal service and a medical education division, but we also have a community-engagement division that kind of transcends the different divisions," adds Kaholokula. "We have a strong community component within everything we do." According to studies, Kaholokula shares that 80 percent of Native Hawaiians are considered obese or overweight. And 20 percent have type 2 diabetes with obesity being a risk factor. With diabetes you have risk of heart disease and heart attacks, so it's a big problem, he says. "In Hawai'i, Native Hawaiians live in the most obesogenic environments," adds Kaholokula, referring to environments that promote increased food intake, unhealthy foods and physical inactivity. "There are two things that we need to set in plaee, one is ka mālama

'āina, whieh is developing healthier and safer communities. And the other is ka 'ai pono and that's promoting heahh consumerism." DNHH also has two significant programs that have been well established at the School of Medicine over the years: The 'Imi Ho'ōla Post-Baccalaureate Program and the Native Hawaiian Center of Excellence, whieh produces research and allows the department to "better address the heahh disparities of Native Hawaiians," says Kaholokula. The 'Imi Ho'ōla Program is designed to provide educational opportunities for Native Hawaiians and other individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who are eapahle of succeeding in medical school. Eaeh year, up to 10 students participate in this 12-month program. Upon successful eomplehon, students enter the medical school as first-year medical students. "The 'Imi Ho'ōla Program is a big thing because it's essential to get more Native Hawaiians in medicine and then back into the communities to provide services," adds Kaholokula. DNHH understands that Native Hawaiian Heahh lies in a kākou (group inclusive) effort. It's a group that Kaholokula is proud to be a part of and serve. ■