Hawaii Community Health

04/09/2025

Measles case identified on O’ahu associated with travel. Hawai’i has several schools that are very low in vaccination rates. Help prevent measles and the spread of disinformation by talking with licensed physicians and healthcare practitioners and using reliable sources research like peer-reviewed medical journals.

Please understand the :
• Measles is one of the most contagious viruses known
• 9 out of 10 unimmunized people exposed to measles will get infected
• The virus can stay airborne for up to 2 hours after an infected person leaves the area
• Infected individuals can spread measles up to 4 days before and after showing symptoms
• The measles vaccine is highly effective in preventing the disease
• 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles are hospitalized due to complications like pneumonia
• Measles can lead to serious complications, including ear infections, hearing loss, brain swelling (encephalitis), and even death
……………………………………………………
WHO IS AT HIGHEST RISK?

KEIKI

🆘 Children at highest risk for contracting measles and experiencing severe complications include:
Unvaccinated children:
👼🏽Those who have not received the recommended MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine are most vulnerable
🤱🏽Infants younger than 1 year:
Infants who are too young to receive the MMR vaccine (which is typically given at age 1) are at greater risk if exposed to measles
👫Children with weakened immune systems: Those with conditions such as leukemia, HIV/AIDS, or those undergoing treatments like chemotherapy are more likely to suffer severe outcomes from measles
🏫 Children living or attending school in areas with low vaccination rates are at higher risk for outbreaks

PREGNANT PEOPLE, KUPUNA, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE IMMUNE COMPROMISED ARE ALSO AT RISK
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🚩Vitamin A supplementation may be recommended by your doctor for diagnosed measles patients to reduce the severity of the disease and prevent complications

☣️Too much Vitamin A can be toxic, so it is important to follow a healthcare provider's guidance on the appropriate dosage 🩺 🚑

☎️ If you or your child show symptoms of measles (fever, rash, cough), contact your healthcare provider immediately for advice on treatment and next steps. Early medical care is crucial for reducing the risk of severe complications. 🚑

👨🏽‍⚕️Check with your family doctor or licensed healthcare provider to see if the MMR vaccine is recommended. 💉
………………………………………………………
Combat Disinformation with FACTS:

1. MMR vaccines (measles, mumps, and rubella) are safe and highly effective in preventing these diseases. They have been extensively studied and monitored for safety and efficacy over many decades.

2. There is no credible scientific evidence linking the MMR vaccine to autism. This myth was based on a discredited study published in 1998, which has since been retracted.

3. Thorough testing: The MMR vaccine has undergone rigorous clinical trials and is continuously monitored for safety by health agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO).

mālama pono

…………………………………………………….
- This public health info is for educational purposes only. Contact your doctor if you have any questions or concerns about measles and prevention or treatment options.

LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE with aloha to help keep our local communities healthy and safe. 🤙🏾🤙🏾🤙🏾

Gov. Josh Green said the child recently traveled internationally and is recovering at home.

04/01/2025

Mahalo to Hawaii State Department of Health for recognizing diversity, equity, and inclusion and for refusing to erase human beings and entire communities who deserve to be represented (as otherwise directed). Doing so would adversely affect public health and contribute to erosion of our communities.

Rather than focusing on personal beliefs and seeking confirmation biases, we need to keep the focus on extending support and lifting others up in aloha 🫶🏽

This post gives with kānaka maoli roots in our Hawai'i communities and involved in public health and grassroots health advocacy efforts .

If it gives you hope too, please engage by using your reaction button, commenting, and sharing to boost this important community support message.

*Respectfully, if you can’t say anything nice or helpful, don’t say anything at all.
Please kokua and refrain from commenting anything harmful, toxic, or judgemental that is unsupportive of communities.

Mahalo to all who help create opportunities and work together toward supporting populations facing health, education, cultural, socioeconomic, etc disparities.

If you are seeking safety and refuge or feel unseen and unsupported, reach out to allies and resources.

If you have health resources or needs to share, please join Hawai'i Health C.A.R.E. Hui (Public Group) and follow the page.

Standing in and

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1060662529419099&id=100064260866490&mibextid=wwXIfr

Hawaii State Department of Health supports our transgender, māhūwahine, and māhūkāne community. We acknowledge the resilience and strength of gender diverse people in the face of discrimination and honor the acceptance and valued role of gender diverse people in traditional Hawaiian culture.

DOH believes that all people of Hawaiʻi should have an equitable opportunity to achieve their optimal state of health and well-being.

03/08/2025

Time sensitive! Testimony needed at County of Maui CDBG-DR meetings. Calling all physicians, nurses, healthcare providers/workers, health advocates, patients, and community leaders:
Can we urge for more funding to be directed towards improving resources and better outcomes in our communities in Maui’s disaster recovery process?
🩺🏥⛑️
Please see details shared by Mauiwes - UH Maui Wildfire Exposure Study and testify in person to make a critical impact.

There is opportunity for virtual testimony and submitting online testimony (feedback) via the link on CDBG-DR:
https://www.mauirecivers.org/cdbgdr

📣 UPCOMING CDBG-DR MEETINGS

Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Meetings:

• Sat, March 8 3:00pm Princess Nahi’ena’ena Elementary

• Tues, March 11 3:00pm online registration: mauirecovers.org/cdbgdr

• Fri, March 14 5;30 J Walter Cameron Center Auditorium

We need all islands and health hands on deck to ensure that we will have enough health resources to meet the high demand as Maui (and Hawai’i) are impacted over the longhaul by our severe fires disaster in Maui nei.

Mahalo nui for supporting Maui and Hawai’i in our long recovery. 🏝️

Please keep showing up to volunteer wherever opportunities present.🤙🏾

🫶🏽 Please engage by following us, using your reaction button, sharing, and commenting to get the word out in support of Maui.

Together, we will rise.

What affects Maui impacts Hawai’i.
We are all in this together

Mahalo for your kokua and advocacy to support increasing health resources in Maui.



Important Message From MauiWES:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122220249278217340&id=61556520203118&mibextid=wwXIfr

02/09/2025

Hope everyone made it out to the MauiWES clinic today. This was the LAST DAY TO ENROLL IN Maui Wildfire Exposure Study!
Saturday, February 8th
10:30 AM to 4:00 PM

This has been a unique opportunity for participants to learn about their own health and support our community’s future.

The study has reached capacity and is now closed!
Great job getting the word out, Maui. We wish there were more resources, volunteers, and funding to expand the study to include more than 2,000 people.

⭐️ Who this study is helping:

Maui locals who were exposed or affected directly & indirectly because of Maui urban wildfires
Ages 10 and up
First Responders
Disaster Clean up Crews
Disaster relief volunteers/workersrs
Families who were on Maui during the 2023 fires and were affected in any way

⭐️ This groundbreaking and first of its kind research and data will help:
Maui communities
Hawai’i
America
Experts, advocates, and communities facing disasters around the world

Participants earn $100 after completing a survey and health metrics (including a small blood sample for adults only).

⭐️ Participants receive:
• free (annual) health check
• comprehensive (annual) testing with rapid results • access to mental health resources + supports
•$100 cash upon completion of your appointment (annually)
• the ability to track your health annually to monitor for any concerns or health changes

⭐️ The value of these tests & health check is over $1000 per person.

MauiWES is more than a research study, it’s become an ongoing free direct healthcare resource and through local community oartners, an essential way for uninsured, undocumented, fixed or low-income, and others who need resources.

If you missed this valuable opportunity, please reach out to MauiWES to be referred to a medical & mental health provider.

Express that you would value this opportunity and ask state & county leaders for more funds and access to resources like this and make them sustainable.

MauiWES started as a grassroots project that relies on volunteer healthcare providers, mental health providers, community organizations, leaders, and community advocates.

Mahalo to MauiWES as this has required an extreme amount of highly demanding work on behalf if the community and there has been consistent, ongoing need for more Maui volunteers because it takes a huge amout of resources to fly a large amount of people in from around the state who have generously given their time because they care about Maui fire survivors and our communities.

This study is longitudinal and follow-ups will continue for at least 4 years more if not longer.

More funding means more data and access to resources.
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🙏🏽 Please kokua and spread the word, with aloha:
- more help/funds are needed to make resources sustainable
- find special ways to MAHALO all volunteers helping in disaster relief, because most aren’t “seen” or recognized for so much work and the endless, unpaid hours that they dedicate.
- ASK leaders to recognize and mahalo volunteers in disaster/crisissis response. Some have been volunteering since onset of pandemic and are burning out

These efforts couldn’t have been done without volunteers across the state whom the public and leaders are even aware of.

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❗️Heads up on upcoming HCH events:

Hawai’i Community Health & Hawai’i Health C.A.R.E. hui have been honered to be able to directly support MauiWES as well as our communities and maui wildfire survivors and emergency responders/volunteersunteers, both directly and indirectly affected, since 8/8/23 fires, including expanding access to mental healthcare as well as much needed PPE, medical supplies, and health resources.

If you didn’t make it out to enroll, please reach out to MauiWES if you need help with a referral to a medical provider.

Also, Hawai’i Community Health & Hawai’i Health C.A.R.E. Hui will continue to have ongoing events and community education resources.

If you want to volunteer or need assistance with connecting with resources, please reach out
email: info@hawaiicommunityhealth.org
we are unfunded and operating with grassroots volunteers, so please be patient if response takes time.

More volunteers could be very helpful!

If you are a healthcare provider or community health advocate wanting to help, reach out to Dayna Moore in FB messenger or email dayna@hawaiicommunityhealth.org

See below for HCH & HCHH February statewide events:

01/29/2025

*Announcement* if you see more than one dead animal in an area, report this to DOH so testing for H5N1 can be done. Avoid touching or handling dead animals and keep pets and keiki away from them.

If you see posts about dead chickens/animals, consider sharing the above health information for awareness and safety to keep local communities safe.

Mahalo for keeping an eye out. There is important information inside this article about the dangers of bird flu and risks should it become transmissible from human to human, assuming that it isn’t already spreading this way.

Remember, we have tools to keep us safe from viruses:
1. wear an N95/KN95
2. wash your hands (20+ seconds with
soap & warm water)
3. sanitize high-touch surfaces
4. watch your distance
5. choose well-ventilated, wide open
spaces and use air filtration/purification
when indoors
6. stay home when sick unless seeking
medical attention
7. WE are in this together

Again, please kokua and wear a mask to protect yourself and others as well as vulnerable community members. By using layers of protections we can reduce harm from numerous pathogens and help to limit the ability of viruses to mutate into more dangerous forms.

Like & Share for a healthy Hawai’i

A pandemic is not inevitable, scientists say. But the outbreak has passed worrisome milestones in recent weeks, including cattle that may have been reinfected.

12/15/2024

*ANNOUNCEMENT* Last Call for keiki
Today: Dec 15 (Sunday) 10:00 am to 4:00pm at Lahaina Comprehensive Health Center.
Register online at www.mauiWES.info to save time. Make health your priority this holiday season 🤙🏾
This is our last weekend for keiki & parents to enroll in Mauiwes - UH Maui Wildfire Exposure Study in 2024.

This study is more than just an opportunity for gathering critical data that can help direct resources and shine light on community needs, it’s an opportunity for participants to be connected with mental health services and other wraparound resources. 🫶🏽

• Partipants receive $100 in cash upon completion of their appt
• Walk-ins are available
• No insurance required!

👫Keiki 10+ yrs old and parents/caregivers who were on Maui at time of Aug 8th fires are highly recommended to enroll asap.

🩺 FREE ANNUAL HEALTH SCREENINGS for the next 4 yrs during this study

🔬These tests are expensive and difficult to obtain in a regular healthcare setting. They are provided to you at zero cost. Tell your Maui friends, ‘ohana, first responders, healthcare providers, and volunteers who have been directly or indirectly impacted.

We are almost at capacity which means the study will be closed to new participants soon.

Take good care and look forward to seeing you soon.

Check out this awesome MauiWES keiki experience video:
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122199698504217340&id=61556520203118&mibextid=wwXIfr

Mahalo to Tamara Paltin and keiki for participating 🤙🏾

Ruben Juarez

12/14/2024

This is our last weekend to enroll in Mauiwes - UH Maui Wildfire Exposure Study in 2024. Dec 14-15 (Sat & Sunday) at Lahaina Comprehensive Health Center. Register online at www.mauiWES.info to save time.

This study is more than just an opportunity for gathering critical data that can help direct resources and shine light on community needs, it’s an opportunity for participants to be connected with mental health services and other wraparound resources.

And partipants receive $100 in cash upon completion of their appt.

Walk-ins are available too.
No insurance required!

Keiki 10+ yrs old and parents/caregivers who were on Maui at time of Aug 8th fires are highly recommended to enroll asap.

FREE ANNUAL HEALTH SCREENINGS for the next 4 yrs.

These tests are expensive and provided to you at zero cost. Tell your Maui friends, ‘ohana, first responders, healthcare providers, and volunteers who have been directly or indirectly impacted.

We are almost at capacity which means the study will be closed to new participants soon.

Take good care and look forward to seeing you this weekend.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=122199698504217340&id=61556520203118&mibextid=wwXIfr

11/09/2024

Happening today (11/9) and Sun (11/10)! MauiWES keiki and parents/caregivers enrollment! Location: UH Maui in Kahului from 10:00-4:00. Register online if possible to make the process faster: www.mauiWES.info
Lahaina locations coming soon. Details on flyer and website.
Please kokua, like and share WIDELY to benefit Maui impacted keiki & ‘ohana.

Join Hawai’i Community Health and Hawai’i Health C.A.R.E. Hui in our Health for the Holidays Events supporting Maui healthcare workers, health advocates, and community members in November and December.
Hawai'i Health C.A.R.E. Hui (Public Group)

09/24/2024

*ANNOUNCEMENT* Covid-19 Rapid Antigen Tests (aka: “RAT” or at-home tests) will be available for free through the mail again at the end of September.
Take advantage of this.

Remember, wearing an N95 is proven to be highly effective at preventing transmission of airborne viruses like Covid-19 and others.

Note: Medical settings, educational settings, and other indoor congregate settings can be higher risk areas for transmission.

TIPS FOR REDUCING HEALTH RISK:

PREVENT long-term health damage from long-covid and disabling complications of repeat covid-19 infections by being proactive and stopping covid-19 infection in the first place!

5 W’s Are Layered Protections Against Viruses:

WEAR A MASK
WASH YOUR HANDS
WATCH YOUR DISTANCE
WELLNESS MATTERS: STAY HOME if unwell
WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

- Consider a well-fitting KN95 or KF94 for less risky public situations and outdoors to reduce risk when in close contact

- MASKS WORK BEST WHEN WORN BY ALL
“My mask protects YOU. Your mask protects ME.”
Help protect our vulnerable households and all at risk of severe outcomes or disabling long-covid disease by masking up and reducing viral load in our air.

NOTE: Surgical masks are designed for droplet exposure, NOT covid-19 which is aerosolized. These are far less protective than N95s. Cloth masks are not recommended because protection is inferior. These masks may be considered better than no mask protection.

- TESTING: Follow instructions and repeat RAT tests serially. In some cases, testing over 4-7 days may yield better results

- Store tests per instructions at the indicated temperature and check the link in the article to see if your tests qualify for extended shelf life

- Updated boosters are now available and free. Check with your healthcare provider to see if it’s recommended for you

SREAD THE WORD, not viruses and keep Hawai’i healthy for the holidays!

Order free RAT’s here at end of Sept 2024:
https://special.usps.com/testkits



https://apnews.com/article/covid-tests-free-order-0403b0f14ea730eca699786497b0312c

A Health and Human Services agency spokesperson has said the tests will detect current virus strains and can be ordered ahead of the holiday season, when families and friends gather for celebrations.

08/17/2024

Please prepare, Hawai’i. Stay vigilant and help neighbors in need, from keiki to kupuna.
These weather events may feel triggering to those suffering from trauma after past wildfires.

Don’t hesitate to reach out and seek support from others and talk with a licensed therapist or someone you trust who is trauma-informed and can listen and offer support.

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Potential tropical threats have caught the attention of exert meteorologists for their possible evolution into tropical storms heading toward Hawaii. “Aside from the …

08/04/2024

*ANNOUNCEMENT* TODAY! 🚨SHARE WIDELY!! FREE Health Event TODAY: Sun, Aug 4th 10am-4pm KIHEI for MAUI RESIDENTS: Adults living, working, or volunteering in/around ANY Maui burn zones 🔥
ENROLL NOW - $100 mahalo for participating 🌺

More events to come!
Registration details on flyers and website:

https://www.mauiwes.info
Coconut wireless:
Let emergency responders and clean-up workers know about this confidential health check.

Rapid results will be available if you want to take them to a healthcare provider to follow-up.
🚒👨‍🚒🚔👮‍♀️🚨🚑

mālama pono 🤙🏾



*Music credit: Kumu Uluwehi Guerrero: Aia i Lahaina
🫶🏽

https://youtube.com/shorts/wTfENr7brSg?si=aMvK38Y-cRc1yBQ8

🚨 SHARE WIDELY!! FREE Health Events for MAUI RESIDENTS: Adults living, working, or volunteering in/around Maui wildfire burn zones 🔥 ENROLL NOW - $100 maha...

08/04/2024