Thanks to a grant from HMSA Foundation, 12 students and four faculty members from the Chaminade University School of Nursing were able to again participate in providing health screenings and wellness education at the annual Ho‘okuikahi I Pu‘ukohola Cultural Festival held on the island of Hawaii at Pu‘ukohola Heiau. The Chaminade team partnered with representatives from the ‘Ahahui o na Kauka and from the Department of Native Hawaiian Health (DNHH) at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). The overall mission and purpose of Chaminade’s participation was to deliver health screening services and to learn how to carry out these services in a culturally sensitive way.
Participating in the event continues to be enriching for students and faculty in the School of Nursing. In light of the experience, the School of Nursing hopes to develop a Native Hawaiian Cultural Competency elective course at Chaminade University that would lead to a stronger foundation in cultural holistic understanding for its students.