Nurse Recognized for Contributions to Hawaiʻiʻs HIV Community

Photo Courtesy: Department of Health

Raymond Alejo is this yearʻs recipient of the Suzanne Richmond-Crum award, the Hawaiʻi Department of Health announced on Monday.

The honor, now in its 16th year, is given annually to a community member who has made outstanding contributions in providing HIV/AIDS services.

Alejo has been serving people living with HIV in Hawaiʻi for the past 19 years.

“His (Alejoʻs) advocacy and loving care for people living with HIV has helped reduce the stigma, fear and unknowns that can keep vulnerable patients from receiving care,” said Peter Whiticar, chief of the health departmentʻs HIV/AIDS program.

Before returning to Honolulu in 2000, Alejo provided HIV services in Seattle as a nurse at Harborview Medical Center. He now serves as a registered nurse case manager and community HIV educator at the Hawaiʻi Health & Harm Reduction Center.

Alejo has also developed trainings to help healthcare providers better serve the Native Hawaiian and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities.

“Raymond has channeled his own personal experiences of stigma and navigating health care access into a keen sense of justice in his work as a community nurse, which makes him a tenacious and effective advocate for our community’s most vulnerable,” added Dr. Caroline Mee, Medical Director at the Hawai’i Department of Public Safety.

Alejo will be recognized at the annual World AIDS Day ceremony in Honolulu on Dec. 1.

 For more information on the event, click here.