MEDIA RELEASE

In the second quarter of 2010, the Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) Foundation approved grants for eight local health programs and community organizations. They are:

Aha Kane – Foundation for the Advancement of Native Hawaiian Males
The grant supports the Aha Kane 2010 Native Hawaiian Men’s Health Conference, which addresses issues of Native Hawaiian male leadership. The conference will provide a health screening to empower attendees to make positive changes in their lifestyle. Grant amount – $10,000.

American Lung Association of Hawaii
The grant supports the Open Airways for Schools® Plus, a school-based asthma education and management program for asthmatic children ages 8-11, parents/caregivers and teachers. Grant amount – $25,000.

Bishop Museum
The grant supports the Medical Mystery Festival, a traveling professional health education program designed to meet the health education needs of Title I students, their teachers, and family members on the Neighbor Islands and rural Oahu. Grant amount – $30,000.

Haiti Earthquake Relief
The grant provided travel support for members of a medical team from the Big Island led by Dr. Ilona “Lonny” Higgins. The medical team volunteered to assist earthquake victims in Haiti. Grant amount – $5,000.

Hawaii Island Adult Care
The grant supports the Caregiver Connection Program, an educational, hands-on training and support group for caregivers of frail elders and mentally/physically challenged adults. Grant amount – $5,000.

Hawaii Speed and Quickness
The grant supports the Refuse to Use and Refuse to Lose Program on Maui. It is a comprehensive after-school program that uses athletics, mentoring and school-based curriculum for substance use prevention and intervention for youth and families. Grant amount – $65,000.

Laulima Pacific, Inc.
The grant supports the Statewide Substance Abuse Prevention Outreach, a program that will provide substance abuse training seminars for schools and community groups throughout Hawaii. Grant amount – $15,000.

Maui Youth and Family Services, Inc.
The grant supports the Adolescent Outpatient Services Program to ensure that the only Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Program on Maui can continue to reduce the effects of alcohol and drug use among adolescents, despite state funding cuts. Grant amount – $30,000.

The HMSA Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt private charitable organization. It was founded in Hawaii in 1986 as a public foundation with the goal of stimulating research aimed at some of the pressing issues that confront Hawaii’s health care industry. In 1997, the Foundation was converted to a private foundation to allow for larger contributions from donors, such as HMSA.

The mission of the HMSA Foundation is to extend HMSA’s commitment to provide community access to cost-effective health care services, promote health, provide health education and relevant research, and improve social welfare in Hawaii.

Health plan dues from HMSA members and employer groups are not used to fund Foundation grants. Foundation grants are funded with annual investment income earned on its original endowment. For more information on the HMSA Foundation, please visit HMSA Foundation.