Ka`u News Briefs Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO MEETS WITH THREE NOMINEES FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP'S CABINET on Thursday. First, Hirono interviews Trump's Secretary of Energy nominee, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 10 a.m. Hirono meets with Trump's Small Business Administrator nominee Linda Mcmahon at noon and Trump's Secretary of the Interior nominee Ryan Zinke at 2:30 p.m. All of the meetings will be at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Hirono will be able to question these cabinet nominations, as she has served on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee since 2015. 

     In regard to the Secretary of the Interior nominee, Hirono has been instrumental in federal funding for the operation of parklands and acquisition of preserves acquired in the last decade by the federal government, the state and county in Ka`u.

TeleHealth will be offered at a kiosk at Ka`u Rural Health Community Association's building, starting on Friday. Photo from KRHCA

   American Well, a leading national telehealth technology company, and Hawai‘i Medical Service Association are collaborating to bring telehealth visits with doctors to residents of the Ka‘u community.
    The companies donated a kiosk for HMSA’s Online Care® for video doctor visits at the Ka‘u Rural Health Community Association’s Resource and Distance Learning Center on Puahala Street. This donation makes the KRHCAI’s Resource and Distance Learning Center a new and important destination for convenient health care services, says a statement from the hui.
      In addition to providing additional access to care, the kiosk will establish a new internship for clinical support staff (certified nurses aides, community health workers, and practical nurses) on how to educate others in underserved areas on the benefits of telemedicine technology.
      The KRHCAI mission is to improve the lives of underserved community members through programs and outreach focused on health, education, research opportunities, and economic sustainability. Its Ka‘u Rural Health Academy serves University of Hawai‘i at Hilo students for whom the kiosk internship will serve as an opportunity to learn and then educate remote communities in critical need of health care access.
      “Serving the Ka‘u community has been HMSA’s privilege for generations,” said HMSA President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Stollar. “We deeply appreciate our partnership with the Ka’u Rural Health Community Association to connect residents with doctors on Hawai`i Island and with specialists on O`ahu, Maui, and Kaua`i through HMSA’s Online Care. These innovations are part our Māhie 2020 vision to improve the health and well-being of everyone in the state of Hawai`i.”
      Danielle Russella, President of Consumer solutions at American Well, noted, “American Well has always believed that we could use the power of technology to deliver care further into communities – particularly if access is a real barrier – and where it’s most needed.”
      “We have the unique advantage to take what we’ve developed and use it to make a profound impact on people’s lives. With our longtime partner HMSA and through their relationship with the Ka’u Rural Health Community Association, we’re contributing to healthier living by making care easier and more accessible.”

Jessie Marques, (second from left) is founder and Executive Director of Ka`u Rural  HealthCommunity Association, which opens a Telehealth Kiosk in Pahala on Friday. Photo from KHRCA

     American Well makes video doctor visits accessible to consumers with simple health issues like cold, flu or infection and streamlines follow-up visits helping patients and doctors manage more complex healthcare issues like diabetes, asthma or behavioral health. American Well bring online healthcare into people’s homes and workplaces through working with HMSA and other health plans, health systems and employers, as well as a consumer telehealth app, Amwell. A patient using Amwell can connect to a board-certified doctor of their choosing in just minutes for a live video visit carried out over smartphone app, tablet, kiosk, phone, or web.
      For more information on Ka’u Rural Community Health Association, visit krhcai.com.
     To learn more about HMSA’s telehealth approach, visit hmsaonlinecare.com. For more about American Well, its telemedicine kiosk services and technology, visit americanwell.com
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

FOUR NON-PROFITS WANT TO STEWARD Kāwā and other lands in the 784-acre, county-owned, oceanfront property between Punalu`u and Honu`apo. The four are competing for County Stewardship Grants and permission to care for the area. Charmaine L. Kamaka, Director of the County Department of Parks & Recreation, reviewed the four applications, recommending one for funding, gave no opinion on two, and said she is unable to recommend the fourth one.
     The Stewardship Grants receive money from the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Commission, which also helps to purchase land for perpetual conservation, using the Two Percent Fund, so named because two percent of all Hawai`i Island property taxes are disbursed to it.

Protecting nature and cultural sites while respecting the surfing tradition at Kāwā. Photo by Julia Neal

    Kāwā is a rich archeological site, a nesting beach for endangered turtles, and is popular with surfers and fishermen. The Kāwā properties were acquired by the County of Hawai‘i, using monies from the Two Percent Fund in addition to funding from state and federal grants. Initially 234 acres were bought in January 2008, and in November 2011 three additional parcels totaling 550 acres were acquired for conservation and open space preservation.
     In 2012 Hawai’i County voters approved a Quarter Percent Fund to maintain properties acquired through the Two Percent Fund.
     Non-profit organizations must apply to the Department of Parks & Recreation for PONC Stewardship Grants to conserve and manage the County’s open spaces. The applications are initially reviewed by PONC, which makes funding recommendations to P&R. P&R also reviews the applications and PONC’s recommendations, then makes recommendations. P&R’s recommendations go before the Count Council's Finance Committee, which makes its recommendations to the County Council. The County Council makes the final decisions. The PONC Maintenance Fund had a balance of $1,882,099 as of December 1, 2016.
     In 2016, P&R received grant applications from five non-profits, of which four were proposing to use the funds in Kāwā - the other was for Waipi`o.  Kamaka wrote a six-page evaluation of the four Kāwā applications.
     She reported that the first applicant, Na Mamo O Kāwā. is requesting $48,850 to “restore the property and its significant features including a freshwater spring, a heiau (temple) and other features. It would implement a native revegetation plan, create and initiate a cultural site monitoring plan and maintain safe and secure access to the property.

Kāwā is known for its springs, estuaries and brackish waters, a nursery for fish. Photo by Julia Neal

   “Na Mamo O Kāwā describes itself as a Hawaiian organization comprised of life-long residents, Hawaiian cultural practitioners, academics, ecologists, educators and natural resource managers,” wrote Kamaka. “Since Na Mamo O Kāwā did not identify its members or their qualification for implementing this grant request, I am unable to provide a recommendation regarding its ability to complete this project according to the project plan,” she concluded.
     Kamaka’s evaluation of the second application by Hawai`i Wildlife Fund for $13,200 reads: “Hawai`i Wildlife Fund proposes to continue its ongoing work restoring the estuary and fishpond located at the southern end of the property . . . members and community volunteers have been working on the natural features monthly since October 2014, during which time they have performed 23 workdays and removed 3,725 cubic feet of invasive species that are harmful to water bodies.” She also discusses youth groups, educational benefits, and the applicant’s proposed partners.
     Kamaka concludes her appraisal of the application: “Given its ongoing work on the estuary and fishpond, collaboration with industry experts and narrow scope of its project, . . . I recommend this applicant”.
     Regarding the third applicant, The Honu Project, with a request for $24,665, she writes that it “Proposes to monitor and protect Hawksbill sea turtles and their nesting habitat within the subject property . . . protect identified nests and hatchlings, collect data on the turtle population, control non-invasive species, and promote public stewardship of the area through education outreach. “Its narrow focus and scope increases the chances of successful completion. However, a lack of details relating to the specific skills of the individuals, including the project coordinator, leave me uncertain about recommending this applicant’s ability to complete the project”.

Kāwā and its springs have been a busy place for campers in the past. Photo by Julia Neal

     Kamaka’s evaluation of the fourth Kāwā application for $354,190 reads: “Team Hawai’i International Athletics was created mainly to offer sports to the youth in and around Pana`ewa community of Hilo. The groupis seeking to steward the subject land actually is Hui Nohana Hawai’i, which the application describes as a social club under Team Hawai’i International Athletics. Hui Nohana Hawai’i states its members “have close ties to the Kāwā Bay” and are very knowledgeable about Ka`u.
     Hui Nohana Hawai`i proposes to build bathrooms and showers, designate an area for a lifeguard stand, and plan for other improvements. This would conflict with Hawai`i County Charter, which states, ‘Moneys in the maintenance fund shall not be used for planning, design, development or construction of new buildings, facilities, or infrastructure . . . . Hui Nohana Hawai`i is seeking $160,000 for two Ford F350 diesel trucks. Due to the vagueness of its application, the group’s background and the high cost of its proposal, I cannot recommend Hui Nohana Hawai`i has the ability to complete its project”.
     The PONC Stewardship Grant program was criticized in 2015 when no applications were approved, although the fund had $1.1 million. (See Ka’u Calendar Newsbriefs of 7/4/2015). The first and only Stewardship Grant was awarded in 2016 to Pohaha I Ka Lani for Waipi’o Lookout, Hamakua District.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

Mats Fogelvik and his tables will be at the annual Hawai`i Wood guild Invitational Masters Show. Photo by Ann Bosted