PUHI — Karlyse Hesly of Lihue already bridges the gap between people and the health services they need to thrive. She’s a Marshallese translator for the Department of Health. Now, Hesly is furthering her knowledge of health in the community
PUHI — Karlyse Hesly of Lihue already bridges the gap between people and the health services they need to thrive.
She’s a Marshallese translator for the Department of Health. Now, Hesly is furthering her knowledge of health in the community by participating in the Community Health Worker program at Kauai Community College.
“I just wanted to learn more,” Hesly said.
Cece Kilma, also of Lihue, joined the program because he loves helping people, and he has garnered other benefits from the program.
“This class, there are people from many different organizations here so we get to share with each other what we do,” Kilma said. “For me, the framework and terminology, it’s a learning experience.”
The duo is part of the KCC’s Community Health Worker cohort, which together will go through five classes in the span of about a year.
At the end, students are awarded certificates of competence.
“Having that, it makes you more hirable, because it shows you can write papers and work together,” said Dana Hazelton, health program/campus grant coordinator.
Hazelton took up the program last year, two years into the three-year $1.4 million grant for the statewide project.
The money foots the bill for students, who don’t have to pay for books, tuition or supplies.
Hazelton was a home nurse for seven years prior to getting into community health advocacy, and said she saw a daily disconnect between patients and the services they need.
“I’d go in and have a set amount of time, but they want to talk about other things, or they need help with other things,” Hazelton said. “So that’s why community health workers are important — they bridge that gap.”
There are no prerequisites to taking the program, and students can sign up for the next cohort now.
“It’s a challenging course, but it’s open to whomever,” she said.
For KCC, the goal is to educate key members of the community who are already plugged into their various aspects of the island, and to generate a workforce of community health workers for Kauai.
On Aug. 25, students in the cohort attended the first annual Community Health Workers’ Leadership Conference in Oahu, where they touched base with Hawaii Sen. Josh Green.
“Community health workers are the backbone of a good healthcare system,” Green said. “Patients all across our state need this type of support and advocacy to navigate today’s complex healthcare system.”
The current cohort is set to complete the program this spring.
Info: danamh@hawaii.edu.
