Hawaiian Health Care Systems - Essay Example

? Topic: Public Health and Health Care Health Sciences and Medicine [School Affiliation Public Health: It is “The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health and efficiency through organized community effort for the sanitation of the environment, the control of communicable infections, the education of the individual in personal hygiene, the organization of medical and nursing services for the early diagnosis and preventive treatment of disease, and for the development of the social machinery to insure everyone a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health, so organizing these benefits as to enable every citizen to realize his birthright of health and longevity” (Winslow, 1920) Public health includes the prevention and treatments of epidemics, improvement of quality of life, and research for the solutions of various health problems. It differs from clinical medicine practice in this aspect that, clinical medicine practice deals only with the diagnosis and treatment of disease, whereas public health has a broader spectrum of goals regarding the health care of human population. Public Health Agencies: Many public health agencies are operative at national and international levels, all striving for the availability of better health care to human population. This paper will involve the analysis of the core public health functions of a public health agency, which influences my workplace and the health care system as a whole. Ke Ola Mamo: The public health agency being analyzed in this paper is Ke Ola Mamo (KOM). It is a non-profit, private health care system located in Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. It is one of the five Native Hawaiian Health Care Systems inaugurated under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Act of 1988; it was then reauthorized in 1992 under the Native Hawaiian Health Care Improvement Act (United States Senate, 2004). It was initially established to address the health disparities of native Hawaiians, but has long since developed into a more diverse public health agency with long lasting goals and futuristic visions. It is now not only limited to provide health care facilities to the native Hawaiians, but has expanded to meet the public health demands and improve the health standards of the population of the island of Oahu, as well as the various government and private organizations operating in the area. It is working endlessly to improve the life and health statuses of the local community through intervention, outreach, advocacy, awareness, and early detection screenings. Ke Ola Mamo and Core Functions of Public Health: The mission statement of Ke Ola Mamo is the protection and promotion of health and life while taking radical steps for the prevention of epidemics and diseases. These goals are in term with the core functions of public health, as public health seeks to improve the standard of life and providence of better health care, along with the prevention of diseases. Ke Ola Mamo contributes to these core functions further by focusing on: Increased health care and its access Prevention of diseases and injuries Control and treatment of epidemics Obesity-related intervention projects Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Maternal and child health care Prevention against environmental threats Nutrition and Fitness Programs Health promotion and self-care HIV/STD Prevention Program Implementation of health care educational programs like  Ho‘oikaika (a fitness, health and nutrition) Program, Diabetes Awareness Program, Contraceptive Safety programs, HIV awareness, is the primary method through which Ke Ola Mamo is contributing to the core functions and aims of public health care (United States Senate, 2004). Workplace - Tripler Army Medical Center: I work at Tripler Army Medical Center - the biggest army medical facility in the Pacific Basin. Tripler Army Medical Center is located in Honolulu, Hawaii, and houses 264,000 both on duty and retired military personnel and their families (Crag, 2000). It also supports Pacific Regional Medical Command and a large number of veteran beneficiaries. Though Tripler stands true to its motto 'Partners in the Journey to Wellness', it is basically a clinical medical facility concerned with the timely diagnosis and treatment of disease, as well as providing residential area to them. This is where the role of Ke Ola Mamo intervenes in the promotion of public health in the residents and the employees of this military medical facility. How Ke Ola Mamo influences Tripler Army Medical Center? As mentioned above, TAMC is not only a home to military personnel, but also to their families. Furthermore, the retirees and veterans living in the residential facilities require special attention and medical care. As Ke Ola Mamo is striving to provide the best health care facilities to the people of Oahu, it provides various services and resources to the army officials and their dependents. It is influencing the medical center in many significant ways; some of them are discussed below: The post deployment negative health effects in the veterans is a major health concern in TAMC. These problems are both physical and psychological in nature. Ke Ola Mamo has devised educational programs for these patients as well as treatment facilities for their physical ailments. These post deployment health assessment programs are extremely beneficial to the veterans living in the medical center as they help in creating awareness amongst these elderly retirees. Ke Ola Mamo is playing an integral part in spreading awareness against STDs and HIV. Programs are being organized to encourage the use of contraceptives and this is influencing the medical center positively by the availability of contraceptives for the residents and their dependents. Maternal and child health care projects encourage health promotion amongst the mothers accommodated at the Tripler Army Medical Center. Moreover the medical staff in the hospital is also encouraged to attend these programs so that they can learn and implement better ways of handling maternal and child care safety issues. Ke Ola Mamo also affects the medical center immensely by administrating and managing health services. It manages the data bases and budget development of the clinic for the residents. It creates policies for the health insurance of these military personnel and directs them to hospital services when required. This is a crucial role played by this public agency as health service management is the backbone of any clinical facility (Department of Native Hawaiian Health, 2006). Roles of Agency Workers: As a public health agency has many roles, various designations are held by different people who are academically and experientially worthy of these posts. The director holds the control of the actions and visions of the agency as a strong leadership is necessary for the smooth running of the internal affairs. The director and co-directors of public health agencies are the principal investigators as they are experienced in conduction and collaboration of clinical and community based research projects. Next are the administrators; Donna-Marie Palakiko is the health administrator of Ke Ola Mamo and oversees health related operations of the agency like Diabetes Awareness Program, Ho‘oikaika program (Department of Native Hawaiian Health, 2006). The nature of these programs which the administrators have to oversee differs with their departments. Project and program coordinators work with academic and community partners in order to plan, coordinate, and monitor the operations of Ke Ola Mamo. Conclusion Specialists working in the behavioral science department of the agency must possess great communication skills along with the relevant academic qualifications as behavioral scientists spread awareness amongst the people about volatile issues like adolescent pregnancies, STDs etc. The methods of communication used by them should be effective, and at the same time should not force or offend anyone. Specialists in biostatistics’ department identify health trends; these workers should possess excellent data collection strategies in order to process huge amount of data and monitor changing trends. To study and control the effects of environment on human health, specialists skilled in toxicology, geography, chemistry etc. combine their expertise. Another important section of Ke Ola Mamo is epidemiology. It deals with the monitoring of epidemic outbreaks and the steps taken for their prevention and control. Epidemiologists are required to do fieldwork and research work on the physical, social, and demographical determinants of these epidemics. References: Crag, D. (2000). Guide to military installations. (6th ed., pp. 105-109). Stackpole Books Department of Native Hawaiian Health. (2006). Pili ‘ohana. Retrieved from United States Senate. (2004). Senate reports nos. 374-407. (1st ed., pp. 66-69). Government Printing Office Winslow, C. E. A. (1920). A definition of public health Read More