A new nonprofit group wants Hawaii Island to get healthy and is asking for the public’s help.
Community First, headed by President and Chairman Barry Taniguchi, chief executive officer of KTA Super Stores, seeks to help Big Isle residents confront the increasing costs of health care.
“The traditional health care model is, you get sick, you go the doctor, the doctor bills your health care plan. You have to see the doctor for them to be compensated. It gives them an incentive to have you coming,” he said Thursday.
There’s a better way to save on health care, and it means that we all have to start taking responsibility for our health, he said. By living healthy lifestyles and monitoring our own health, the community can catch illnesses before they become serious —and expensive — problems.
“At the simplest level, it’s the idea that you can help take care of your own health,” Taniguchi said.
To help Hawaii Island residents learn about the status of their own health, and to help project organizers gain an overall view of the areas that need work at the grass-roots level, the nonprofit is asking the public to log on to a new website and answer questions on a health survey. Individuals’ answers are protected under federal health information privacy laws and will not be shared with insurance companies and other organizations.
Beginning today, area residents can log on to hawaiiwellbeing.org to take the Hawaii Island Well-Being Challenge. A number of partners, including insurer Hawaii Medical Service Association, KTA and Hawaii County Mayor Billy Kenoi have pledged their support.
For every person who fills out the survey, HMSA will donate $4 to Hawaii Island United Way’s Puna Relief Fund.
While the goal is to complete 10,000 assessments, there’s no limit to how many people can sign up, said project organizer Mike Sayama.
“The assessment challenge is open to everybody in Hawaii County,” he said. “It promotes the idea that you’re responsible for your well-being — not just the physical health, but the emotional health, the social belonging and access in the community to certain basic needs. It’s one more step toward spreading the idea that health care is not just about treating disease, it’s about taking care of your health. Everyone has a personal responsibility to do that.”
In addition to answering questions to be used to provide an assessment of Hawaii Island’s current health status, individuals will receive a report on their own personal status, along with tips on how they can easily improve their own health, he said.
Community First has identified a wide range of long-term goals for improving area residents’ health, but has chosen to focus on four primary initiatives at its launch. They include:
• End medical homelessness: Every resident of Hawaii County should have a primary care provider.
• End high blood pressure: Working with University of Hawaii at Hilo’s School of Nursing, the East Hawaii Independent Physicians Association and KTA’s Pharmacy Department, Community First is creating a campaign around school children, employers and primary care providers. The focal intervention will be for nursing students to educate sixth-graders about the dangers of high blood pressure, equip them with digital blood pressure monitors, and have them take readings of family and friends.
• End uninformed and unnecessarily painful dying: With baby boomers approaching the end of life, unless we stop the unwanted, intensive medical services in the last few months and weeks of life, there will be an explosion of costs without value. If we knew and followed the wishes of people for care at the end of life, however, we could allow more people to die more gracefully, fully honoring the choices of all and have more resources for other critical services.
• The Hawaii Island Well-Being Challenge: A grass-roots, islandwide campaign to get 10,000 residents to complete the Heatlhways WBA in November. For each WBA, HMSA will donate $4 to the Hawaii Island United Way Puna Relief Fund.
For more information, visit hawaiiwellbeing.org, or visit facebook.com/hawaiiwellbeing. Organizers say the survey is fast, free and confidential. Participants will also automatically be entered to win a free trip to Las Vegas.