Doctor's office for Big Isle schools gets wheels

Ease, convenience and a special focus on youth are a few of the benefits of school-based health centers, according to nonprofit Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center.

Essentially, these “doctor’s offices inside schools,” HICHC described, provides exams, screenings, immunizations, behavioral health support, chronic care management and more, geared toward keiki regardless of the family's insurance or ability to pay.

HICHC, along with ‘Ohana Health Plan and the Centene Foundation, announced Wednesday that its new mobile health clinic will start service to public schools on Hawai‘i Island next month for the 2025-2026 school year, which begins Aug. 4.

‘Ohana Health Plan and the Centene Foundation provided $550,000 in grant funding over two years to support HICHC’s Gateway to Health project to “expand access to essential health services for students in underserved areas,” said a joint announcement at the time.

“We are excited to see this partnership come to life in our schools. We’re ready to hit the road and meet students where they are,” said Cecilia Sakata, HICHC director of school-based health, in a July 30 statement. “This clinic is equipped to provide everything from check-ups to mental health support — right outside their classroom doors. The phased rollout ensures that students across our island will benefit from this innovative approach to school-based care.”

The Honokaʻa-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena complex area will be the first to receive services via HICHC's Gateway to Health project, followed by Kaʻū-Keaʻau-Pāhoa and Hilo-Waiākea.

With the addition of a new mobile clinic, HICHC looks forward to serving the remaining public and public charter schools on the island on a rotating basis before the end of the school year in May 2026.

"This mobile health clinic will be a lifeline for many students and families who might otherwise struggle to access care," said ʻOhana Health Plan President and CEO Scott Sivik in a statement. “It represents a powerful step forward in ensuring that every child on Hawai‘i Island has access to the care they need to thrive. We’re proud to support this partnership that brings health care directly to our keiki.”

West Hawaiʻi Community Health Center and Bay Clinic merged to form Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center in July 2022.

By early 2023, HICHC opened school-based health centers at three DOE schools in West Hawaiʻi (Hōnaunau Elementary and Kealakehe Elementary School and Kealakehe Intermediate School), and by the end of that year, had expanded the program to new sites including Kalanianaʻole Elementary and Intermediate School and Konawaena Middle School and Konawaena High School.

In 2024, HICHC received a $20,000 grant from The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation for general operating support for the organization.

For more information, visit hicommunityhealthcenter.org.

Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.