Four maternity care providers join Kaiser Permanente’s Wailuku Medical Office

Kaiser Permanente Hawai’i has added four new maternity care providers at the Wailuku Medical Office to ensure expectant families can continue to receive high quality care on-island. The new team members include obstetricians-gynecologists Jennifer Leeper, DO, and James Morong, MD, along with certified nurse-midwives Brooke Raidmae, CNM, and Carolyn Wetzel, CNM. 

This addition bolsters Kaiser Permanente’s staff of more than 700 health care providers in Hawaiʻi’s largest multi-specialty medical group practice, Hawaiʻi Permanente Medical Group, which serves more than 269,000 members in Hawaiʻi, according to a news release announcement.

“We are thrilled to welcome such talented professionals to our team,” said Kristen Redenbaugh, DO, Maui section chief of obstetrics-gynecology and midwifery for Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi. “Access to quality obstetrical care is vital for ensuring a safe and healthy pregnancy for birth parents and their newborns. The expertise of our new maternity care providers will be invaluable as we continue to enhance our maternity services and ensure that families on Maui receive the best possible support.”

Jennifer Leeper, DO, most recently worked as a staff physician at Maui Lani Physicians and Surgeons. She received her Doctor of Osteopathy from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Tripler Army Medical Center. Before practicing in Hawaiʻi, she served as the chief of obstetrics and gynecology at Bassett Army Community Hospital while on active duty, and then transitioned to deputy chief as a civilian. Dr. Leeper is board-certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is an active member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the American Medical Association. Dr. Leeper recently served a two-year term as the chair of the obstetrics and gynecology department at Maui Memorial Medical Center from 2020-2021.

James Morong, MD, received his medical degree from the University of Queensland Medical School in Brisbane, Australia. He completed his internship and residency training in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago. Prior to coming to Maui, Dr. Morong served as a career medical officer for the Western Sydney Local Health District at Blacktown Hospital in Australia. He is a junior fellow in practice of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a prevocational fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Dr. Morong’s research in maternal health has appeared in various publications, and he’s presented this research at several medical conferences. Dr. Morong also holds a master’s degree in maternal mortality from the University of Queensland.

Brooke Raidmae, CNM, most recently worked at Maui Medical Group in Wailuku, where she managed comprehensive health services, including primary, preventive, and mental health care, as well as reproductive and women’s health services such as contraceptive counseling and hormone replacement therapy. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Arizona and her master’s degree in nursing in nurse-midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky. She completed her clinical training at El Rio Community Health Center in Arizona. She is board-certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and holds registered nurse and advanced practice registered nurse licenses in Hawaiʻi.

Carolyn Wetzel, CNM, holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice and master’s degree in nursing in nurse-midwifery from Frontier Nursing University in Kentucky. Most recently, Wetzel worked at The Everett Clinic in Washington State, where she focused on women’s health, obstetrics, and gynecology — providing comprehensive care, including gynecological assessments, cervical cancer screenings, contraceptive counseling, and menopausal management, while also mentoring nurse practitioner students. She is board-certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board and is an active member of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health.