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LAHAINA — Health Services Pathway Instructor Malia Shimomura announced that the program offers new opportunities for Lahainaluna High School students.

The Health Services Pathway program supports students interested in exploring health and medical careers.

It consists of a four-year academic program and HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America).

HOSA’s primary focus is a competition that allows the students to compete in a chosen medical or leadership event. The intra-curricular approach from the class helped support competing, along with coaching from the pathway instructor and other selected mentors.

While the competition option remains available to the students, Shimomura has removed it as the program’s centerpiece.

As a result, the program at Lahainaluna offers students new options, including:

Hale Ola Pono Clinic — This student-run clinic was built and opened in 2019. As its system started to flow, the pandemic shut down its services. This year, the clinic has reopened and provides health assessments to students, faculty and staff. The clinic seeks to become more community-based in the future.

CPR Hands-Only Training — In collaboration with Maui Fire Department, third-year students take their CPR/First Aid Certification to the next level. They provide Physical Education students with CPR and automated external defibrillator training. They also offer these services to the faculty and staff for safety reviews.

Blood Bank of Hawaii — The HOSA Lifesaver’s Club is comprised of students trained by a Blood Bank of Hawaii representative to educate, advocate and recruit blood donors. The team went to various classes to provide presentations to recruit donors. The goal is to register donors over the age of 16 on campus and faculty, staff and community. This year, LHS took its first busload of students to the Cameron Center to donate blood. The club eventually hopes to run its own blood drive here in Lahaina.

Hawaii Stroke Coalition — Maui Health has provided the mentorship for our seniors to take on the BEFAST Project in Lahaina. Seniors take this stroke awareness and action protocol to middle school and health classes in hopes of spreading the information to families and friends.

Kupuna RnR — In collaboration with Kaunoa Senior Center, LHS HOSA members created a committee to recruit volunteers and plan events at the senior center.

Leadership Training — HOSA provides leadership training, including presentation, networking, organization and teamwork skills that many classroom settings cannot provide.

John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) — Each year, seniors take a trip to JABSOM on Oahu, where students are able to interact with current medical students, work through a case study and apply skills to high-tech simulations. This year, LHS collaborated with Hawaii Area Health Education Center to offer the same trip to juniors as well.

Certification and Specialty Courses — The senior class can take advantage of various specialty courses that result in certification for entry-level work. These courses include UHMC Nurse Aide, CVS Pharmacy Tech, and Clinical Labs of Hawaii Phlebotomy, among others. Seniors also earn a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Basic Life Support certification before they enter these courses.

Students should check out Lahainaluna HOSA’s social media platforms.

“There, you can see everything we’ve been up to and learn about the scores of successful program graduates now in college, earning advanced degrees or already working in healthcare,” Shimomura explained.

If you have any questions, reach out to Shimomura at malia.shimomura@k12.hi.us.