New grants seek to expand telehealth throughout the state; Reality Check: how the pandemic has exacerbated our teacher shortage; Rental assistance program rolls out for Native Hawaiians; Perseverance rover hunts for ancient life on Mars
New grants seek to expand telehealth throughout the state
Due to stay-at-home orders and limited in-person doctor appointments, telehealth has become a literal lifeline for some patients during the pandemic. But challenges like lack of broadband access, technology, and training have comprised many clinics' attempts at implementing a telehealth program. Chris Van Bergeijk, senior vice president and chief impact officer at Hawaii Community Foundation, wants to change that. Along with HMSA and the Freeman Foundation, her organization has provided $1.3 million in grants to get telehealth service off the ground in fourteen federally qualified health centers across the state.
Kalihi Palama Health Center (KPHC) received one of those grants. CEO Dr. Emmanuel Kintu continues to conversation with HPR's news editor Jason Ubay about KPHC's telehealth system prior to the pandemic and how it used the money.
Reality Check: how the pandemic has exacerbated our teacher shortage
Hawaii suffered from a severe teacher shortage prior to pandemic. Civil Beat reporter Suevon Lee gives us an overview of the Department of Education's recruitment strategies amidst looming budget cuts and travel restrictions. You can read her full story here at civilbeat.org.
Rental assistance program rolls out for Native Hawaiians
As we draw nearer to the anniversary of the first pandemic lockdown, many Hawaii residents are still struggling with losses of income. A new rental assistance program by spearheaded the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement (CNHA) and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) started on February 8th and seeks to provide relief to Native Hawaiians. They have receivcd over five hundred applications already. Kuhio Lewis, President and CEO of CNHA and Tyler Gomes, Deputy to the Chairman of DHHL talk with The Conversation's Russell Subiono about who is qualified and how to apply.
To apply for the program, click here: www.hawaiiancouncil.org/dhhl
Perseverance rover hunts for ancient life on Mars
Dr. Sarah Fagents is a co-investigator for Mastcam-Z instruments on the new Mars rover Perseverance. She talks with The Conversation's Savannah Harriman-Pote about her work as a planetary volcanologist and how Hawaii can help understand the Red Planet's geology.
To learn more about NASA's Perseverance mission, click here.
