40 Kaiser employees from all the Maui Kaiser clinics and their family members (80 volunteers total) with the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Staff members. Photo by Noda Sadang.

By Sonia Isotov

Maui’s Kaiser Permanente physicians and staff members painted the Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center in Wailuku in commemoration of today’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.

“We wanted to honor the memory of the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by volunteering in our community, and lending a hand to Ka Hale A Ke Ola, an important resource on Maui that provides assistance to those in need on a daily basis,” said David Ulin, MD, chief of Kaiser’s Maui Lani Clinic, in a written statement.

Home Health Management Assistant, Lila Edrada and her sons, Sayge Edrada and Kalani Tanouye, and Clinics Director, Neighbor Islands, Mary Hew. Photo by Noda Sandang.

Eight years ago, in recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his advancement of civil and human rights, Kaiser Permanente established an annual day of service that takes place on Martin Luther King Day. Rather than taking a holiday on that day, Kaiser Permanente employees and physicians take part in a “day on” of volunteering dedicated to the memory of Dr. King.

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii physicians and staff members volunteered at Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. today. Today’s volunteer effort is part of several community service activities by over 500 Kaiser Permanente physicians, staff members and other volunteers taking place on Maui, Oahu and the Big Island, and led by the Hawaii Permanente Medical Group, which was formed in 1960 to provide care to all Kaiser Permanente members in Hawaii.

Kaiser staff members Grace Motonaga and Connie Jaramillo. Photo by Nona Sadang

Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers, Inc. began sheltering the homeless in 1986, utilizing an old church building in Puunene as a shelter. Since 1993, the program has been housed on a five-acre site in Wailuku. Ka Hale A Ke Ola provides basic services under one roof, linking with over 50 human service agencies to provide for the clients’ needs, such as medical, mental health, vocational rehabilitation, and financial services.

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