News Releases from Department of Health

When Adele Ching, Coordinator for the Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP Hawaii) Program in the Executive Office on Aging, an agency of the Hawaii State Department of Health received the department’s newly adopted Nutrition Wellness Policy, she immediately took it to heart. In planning the Volunteers Training and Recognition Conference on May 15, 2015, Adele worked ...
Read More Hawaii State Department of Health: Eating and Leading by Example

Every day, the Hawaii State Hospital team of healthcare professionals delivers valuable mental health services for those who are often shunned by others. They provide care and treatment services to patients with medically complex conditions, including chronic schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders and bipolar disorder. Services include psychotherapy, pharmacotherapy, relaxation techniques and cognitive therapy, dog training and ...
Read More Hawaii State Hospital Poised to Expand and Revitalize Mental Health Services

Hawaii has the highest rate of liver cancer in the nation, and the leading causes of liver cancer in Hawaii are hepatitis B and C. According to DOH, about 50,000 people in Hawaii may be living with hepatitis B and C, and most are unaware of their infection. That means many people are not accessing ...
Read More DOH and Hep. Free Hawaii launch local campaign to increase hepatitis awareness

By Carrie Mardorf, Chief of Cultural Resources, Kalaupapa National Historical Park Kalaupapa National Historical Park recently completed a major project to conserve precious, historic artifacts that tell the story about life in Kalaupapa Settlement. The project, funded by Pacific Historic Parks, was the first of its kind at Kalaupapa to mitigate the environmental effects on ...
Read More Kalaupapa Conserves Significant Museum Objects

Nearly 550 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families from across the state recently gathered together at the Hawaii State Capitol to celebrate their abilities and to meet with their legislators. It was part of the annual Day at the Capitol event, coordinated by the State Council on Developmental Disabilities in partnership with the Hilopa`a ...
Read More State Council on Developmental Disabilities Day at the Capitol Event Celebrates the Abilities of People with Developmental Disabilities March 12, 2015

A national survey of high school students conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that 10.5% of Native Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders reported having been forced into sexual intercourse at some point in their lifetime. This was the third highest demographic in the nation, underscoring the need for early prevention efforts in Hawaii. Sexual ...
Read More Hawaii Department of Health Raises Awareness about Sexual Assault

This week, Director Ginny Pressler spoke about her vision for the Hawaii Department of Health with Sen. Josh Green on his program “Healthcare in Hawaii.” The one-hour program is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV-2cZXkOsY&feature=youtu.be.  During the program Dr. Pressler discusses her decision to accept an appointment as director, her focus on systems change and prevention, her anticipation ...
Read More “Hawaii: The State of Health” Features Department of Health Experts Live Streamed on ThinkTechHawaii.com

Kamaaina who have grown up in Hawaii, especially those in rural Oahu and the neighbor islands, know that commercial sugar plantations and cane burning have been a part of our island culture since the 1840s. Suburban and urban growth in Hawaii have put residential developments in close proximity to sugar cane fields. This has resulted ...
Read More Sugar Cane Burning in Hawaii

Taking care of those without a home is a growing challenge.  It is estimated that for every 100,000 residents in Hawaii, about 45 are homeless. Those who are chronically homeless often have mental health disorders and/or struggle with substance abuse. This makes these individuals especially vulnerable and in need of support. While others may look upon ...
Read More Meeting the Needs of Oahu’s Chronically Homeless

The Hawaii State Department of Health’s Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (HEER) Office team continues to work closely with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to oversee the cleanup of a 44,000-gallon jet fuel release from a tank farm facility near Sand Island that occurred in January, 2015. According to Keith Kawaoka, deputy director of ...
Read More Cleanup of Jet Fuel Release at Sand Island Facility Still Underway