From classrooms to communities, KS and Hawaiʻi Pacific Health renew partnership supporting education, health and well-being

Dec. 17, 2025

A summer experience two years ago helped Kamehameha Schools Kapālama senior Seiya Yim see his future clearly as a nurse practitioner caring for patients, especially those with limited access to health care. He joined a nurse aide certification program offered through a partnership between Kamehameha Schools and Hawaiʻi Pacific Health (HPH) aimed at improving the education, health, economic stability and social well-being of students and families across Hawaiʻi.

“I learned essential health care skills in a classroom setting using professional equipment. This hands-on learning equipped me with the knowledge and the confidence to apply these skills effectively in a real-world setting,” Yim said. “I have been accepted to Chaminade University’s nursing program, and I plan to stay here in Hawaiʻi to give back to the community that raised me.”

Yim is one of more than 100 KS haumāna who have benefited from research opportunities and health care career training programs since the partnership began in 2019. He shared his gratitude with leaders from both organizations who gathered on campus this week to celebrate the renewal and formally sign a new memorandum of understanding.

“Over the past six years, our partnership with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health has shown how powerful it is when health and education are aligned around community,” said Kamehameha Schools CEO Jack Wong. “Together, we’ve opened doors for haumāna to explore health careers, invested in local food entrepreneurs, and grown our local food systems. This new memorandum builds on that momentum by reaffirming our focus on the overall health, resilience and well-being of Native Hawaiians.”

The renewed memorandum introduces a shared initiative focused on enhancing Hawaiian community health and well-being. As part of this effort, HPH and KS will share data and explore opportunities to partner on research related to Native Hawaiian health disparities to better understand and serve community needs.

“I couldnʻt be more excited about renewing the partnership between Hawaiʻi Pacific Health and Kamehameha Schools, mostly because of what it represents around our shared alignment around things that truly create a healthier community, not just in terms of physical health, but economic sustainability, food security, and the broader well-being and benefit for the people of Hawaiʻi,” said Hawaiʻi Pacific Health President & CEO Ray Vara.

Through their collaborative efforts, both organizations have made a significant impact in the areas of focus outlined in their original agreement, including building healthy food systems. They achieved their purchasing goal of sourcing at least 50% of food locally for dining services and surpassed that goal in 2025.

“The food system work we’re doing with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health is really incredible because they set a target, we set out to reach it, and we both met our targets in terms of serving our communities, having amazing food, and also supporting our farmers and local agriculture,” Wong said.

“We are deeply grateful to Kamehameha Schools for this partnership and are proud of the impact we’ve made together to improve social determinants of health for Hawai‘i families,” Vara said. “Through innovative programs, we’ve advanced workforce development initiatives, supported local food systems and made transformational investments. This new agreement reaffirms our shared commitment to leverage our collective strengths in health care and education to create healthier communities across Hawai‘i.”