The state department of health so far has announced plans to celebrate National Public Health Week from April 7-13 in Līhuʻe and Hilo, at its respective district health offices.
For Kaua‘i District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman, who started in the role in 2017 and oversees about 70 staff members, this will be her fourth time helping to organize the Open House event.
The community event focused on promoting health and wellness will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, April 11, outside its Līhuʻe office at 3040 Umi St.
"Weʻre proud of our work and welcome the community to learn more about what we do," said Berreman, who has more than two decades of public health leadership experience. "There will be tables and tents with information and free activities. Not to mention live entertainment, prizes and more."
She added, "We've grown every year. ... I enjoy seeing people in the local community connect with our staff – and even staff engaging with other staff – then hearing their ‘aha’ moments afterwards."
KDHO invites the public to share their concerns and learn more about the services and program it offers such as vital records, health education, epidemiology, disaster relief, case management, among other areas. Behavioral and mental health resources will also be available from local partners.
This year, Berreman said more than 100 high school students interested in health as a career path have signed up for the Open House, who will get a chance to learn from first-year medical students from the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine, or JABSOM. There will also be a human resources representative on site for those interested in working at KDHO.
"Public health has become so political recently," Berreman said. "When I think about what public health does and why it's important, I like to boil it down to what we do that everybody cares about: We all want to drink water safely out of our tap without getting sick or poisoned; to swim, surf and fish in the ocean and eat at restaurants – all of those things are what public health does. We also want to gather together socially, whether that be going to school or work, and not have a high-risk or be afraid of getting sick.
"Though we may disagree about the how, those are things that I think we would all like to have and be assured of. Thatʻs our job, but the hard part is figuring out how to work with communities, other agencies and lawmakers, to make all of that happen. And those things should be available to everybody, not just to some."
Prior to assuming her current role in 2017, Berreman was a local health officer on the Mainland for about 10 years, but started her career as a pediatrician in American Samoa and with Waiʻanae Coast Comprehensive Health Center on O'ahu.
"We’re back home. I hadn't lived or worked on Kauaʻi before, and, of course, each of our counties and islands are different. The main similarity, unfortunately, is that itʻs really hard to make a living, have stable housing, put food on the table, pay your bills, etc. Sometimes people are surprised to hear me say thatʻs a health trend, but the stresses of that have real impacts on your physical health, as well as your mental health. Thatʻs gotten worse over time – and we've only put Band-Aids on the problems."
She said some of her specific health concerns include "the measles outbreaks on the Mainland" and Avian influenza, or bird flu. "We know that we have communities on Kauaʻi and in the state where not as high of a percentage of children are immunized against measles as would be needed to protect us. And we know a lot of our residents travel to the Mainland and around the world, and people come from there to our Islands, so weʻre certainly at-risk."
KDHO is monitoring bird flu, she said, adding, "We have a lot of chickens on Kauaʻi, as well as migratory birds." To date, there are no confirmed cases this year, "but itʻs likely only a matter of time. We donʻt know yet, but weʻre all following that very closely."
Another priority for Berreman is to keep communicating national trends to her team, as well as to the public. "Now, as weʻre faced with very uncertain times with public health nationally – threats to our funding, our authority, our ability to do the work weʻre all committed to doing," she said.
As a leader, she is mindful to listen, while building trust and credibility, both internally and externally. "While the words are nice, it matters what you do."
"I really love working in public health!"
For more information, visit the DOH website: https://health.hawaii.gov/
Open House information:
- Kaua‘i District Health Office: "The KDHO invites the public to learn about public health services, programs and job opportunities on Friday, April 11, from 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at 3040 Umi St. in Līhuʻe. This event is free and open to all. No RSVP is required."
- Hawaiʻi District Health Office: The community event "focused on promoting health and wellness" will take place Friday, April 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside on the Hilo State Office Building lanai (75 Aupuni St.).
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
