Maui radiologist partners with Maui High School students to promote local careers in health care

In response to Hawaiʻi’s ongoing health care worker shortage, a Kaiser Permanente radiologist and a group of talented students from Maui High School worked together to raise awareness and provide learning opportunities for youth interested in the health care field. This initiative, which has been five years in the making, introduces students to careers in health care through a website built entirely by the Maui students. 

Kaiser Permanente’s Lee Miyasato, MD, has been the driving force behind this project. Recognizing the critical need for health care professionals, especially on the neighbor islands, Miyasato partnered with the late Clint Gima, a former digital media instructor at Maui High School, to create a project that combines website development, content creation, and video production to communicate information about the many roles in the health care field. The website features a wealth of content including interviews with health care professionals, detailed career information, and educational resources.

“This project has really been a labor of love,” said Miyasato. “It has been incredibly rewarding to see students not only gain skills in website development and content creation, but also become inspired to pursue careers in health care. I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mr. Gima, as this website would not exist without his support. He also served as our inspiration to see this project to fruition as part of his legacy in using digital media to change lives and impact our community.”

One of the program’s notable successes includes the recent nursing school graduation of a student who helped build the website. In fact, a number of the eight students who worked on the project are also pursuing careers in health care. This milestone exemplifies the tangible impact this project has already had on students interested in health care careers. Miyasato is now collaborating with the Pacific Basin/Hawaiʻi Area Health Education Center (AHEC) to introduce the website to other schools on Maui. 

The Maui High School project team consisted of Aleizay Rose Angel, Arianna Aurelio, Domine Miyasato, Faith Christy Soliven, Karissa Ginoza, and Romelyn Tabangcura. The program would not be possible without the support of Maui High School students Sophia Kato, Marissa Johnson, Marigold Baldonado, and Kyson Calibuso; Aaron Joyo from AHEC; Jeani Jow, Kirk Fernandes, Sam Kojima and Vanessa Tau-a from Hawaiʻi Permanente Medical Group; Patrick Garcia and Selyna Villareal from Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi; our partners from Nucleus Medical Media; and Claire Miyasato. 

At a recent announcement launching a state-funded loan forgiveness program for health care workers, Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green reported that there were about 4,000 health care worker vacancies statewide. Grassroots efforts such as the students’ website will help introduce learners to these professions, with the goal of encouraging them to pursue health care careers in their own communities.