Photo By Sgt. Jessica DuVernay | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Justin Hines, optometry technician, 165th Medical Detachment,...... read more read more
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HILO, Hawaii--The island of Hawaii, as vast as it is, also suffers from a serious lack of services in isolated rural areas. The population spread makes it hard for some residents to receive medical care. The island of Hawaii is beautiful, but in some areas its medical statistics are not. It boasts the highest infant, heart disease, and stroke mortality rates in the state. It also has the largest amount of people living under the poverty line. The Big Island’s rural areas could use some big time help.
The Ocean View Estates community lives up to its name. The breath-taking community with views of the Pacific Ocean from lava-rock encrusted hills is one community in need of help. The community center is the town’s main hub, where residents go to find out about different services and events in the area. It’s also the site of Tropic Care 2016.
Tropic Care 2016 is a U.S. Army Reserve, State of Hawaii Department of Health led, joint services, innovative readiness training program, conducted off military installations in the civilian community, assisting local efforts, providing quality healthcare to the underserved rural communities of Kea’au and Puna districs of the island of Hawaii from May 30, 2016 to June 11, 2016.
“Ocean View Estates was chosen because it is one of the most medically underserved areas. There are a lot of health needs out here,” explained Martha Yamada, public health nursing supervisor for Hawaii. Ocean View Community Association put forth a lot of effort to help overcome the transportation issues, one of the major health care barriers.
45 minutes away is the town of Ka’u, where Ka’u High School hosts another Tropic Care clinic. A quiet location, with a tight-knit community also makes for beneficial location to hold a health fair.
“We’re here because of what we believe the community needs,” said Jessie Marques, executive director and program coordinator for Ka’u Rural Health Association. “We are a rural underserved community and we are economically distressed, many of our residents are at poverty level and below.”
“There is a small number of local physicians and specialty providers, there is also a high percentage of adults who are uninsured,” said Kenneth Gonzales, public health nurse, State of Hawaii Department of Health.
For some, Tropic Care 2016 will be the only medical care that some will or have received in a long time, making all partnerships and efforts put forward highly impactful.
| Date Taken: | 06.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 06.08.2016 04:21 |
| Story ID: | 200323 |
| Location: | HI, US |
| Web Views: | 125 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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