From Surgeons To Therapists, It Takes A Team To Keep Hawai‘i Healthy
Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo
Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i is celebrating a major milestone this year. Since the inception of its Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes program in 2014, the organization has recognized 51 deserving individuals as Healthcare Heroes. This year, another round of five health care professionals will be selected.
The Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes program highlights the importance of health care workers and strives to increase public recognition of their efforts. The program serves as an opportunity for patients and their families to honor individuals in the health care industry who have provided them or their loved one with extraordinary care.
The emergency responder who helped you when you needed medical attention; the therapist who assisted your family member with physical therapy; or the nutritionist who helped improve your dietary habits — these are examples of Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes.
“They are representatives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people every day who are doing truly remarkable work here in the state of Hawai‘i,” says Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i’s president and CEO Hilton Raethel. “Health care is such a personal thing. Everyone gets to experience health care no matter who you are, where you live, how old you are — all of us interact with the health care delivery system.”
HAH communications director Stacy Wong adds, “As the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i, we are the nonprofit trade association for not just the hospitals, but also the nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the home health agencies and the hospice providers. But when somebody nominates someone for a heroes award, that health care professional can work anywhere.”
Some examples of the type of facilities that nominees can work at include medical clinics, pharmacies, community health centers and medical equipment suppliers.
Of those who have been highlighted in the past, nurses make up 37% of the awardees. But nominations for the program are open to all health care professionals, including social workers, lab technicians, emergency medical services and physical therapists, among others.
Raethel notes that while they receive about a hundred applications each year, they are happy with the influx because it’s important to recognize a diverse group of health care workers.
“We want to get as many applications in as possible,” Raethel notes. “We want as many people as possible to have the opportunity to nominate a Healthcare Hero.”
A lot of planning and behind-the-scenes dedication are required to ensure each year’s nomination and selection process, as well as the recognition ceremony, go off without a hitch. He chalks up the success of the Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes program to the hard work of his team, which includes about 24 employees.
“This is, by far, the best job I’ve ever had and the best team I’ve ever had to work with,” Raethel says.
While he loves all that his job entails, he admits it took him a while to find his calling in health care. Originally from Australia, Raethel came to America and attended a university in California to go into psychology. Then, he started working toward a master’s degree in business administration as a way of “trying to figure out again what to do with my life.”
Raethel’s life took a pivotal turn when his wife, Kathy, was recruited for a nursing position at a hospital in East Los Angeles.
“I’ve never thought about a career in health care,” Raethel says. “I fell into health care and found my calling in life simply because I was looking for a part-time job while I was working on my MBA. I switched from the MBA to a MPH, which is a master’s in public health, and then did a master’s in health administration a well. So I found my callling.
“Health care, for me, has never been just a job,” continues Raethel, who has been CEO for eight years. “I found it by accident. I loved health care, it loved me and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
On working closely with Raethel on the Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes program, Wong says, “You need to have a CEO who believes that what you’re doing is important. You’re lucky if you have a CEO like that, and then you try to do your best work.”
Through the Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes program, Raethel and his team are able to celebrate individuals whose passion for health care hasn’t gone unnoticed. After each year’s awardees are selected by a panel of judges comprising of media personalities, HAH informs the awardees’ respective supervisors.
Sometimes the supervisors will opt to tell the awardees in advance that they’ve been selected as a Hawai‘i Healthcare Hero, while other times, Raethel and Wong will go on site to surprise the awardee. The heartfelt moment is especially meaningful because the person who nominated the individual for the award is also present.
“The managers, the supervisors, the owners of these organizations, or the CEO, depending on what the organization is, they are so grateful that their workers are being recognized for the work they do,” notes Raethel. “The fact that one of their patients — or a family member of the patient — has recognized the work that they’re doing, that reflects on the organization as well. It’s really wonderful to see that pride that it reflects on the team members, on the coworkers, and the managers and supervisors of those individuals. The recognition is not just for the heroes, it’s the organization that they work for as well.”
The Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes will be honored at a gala in October at Sheraton Waikīkī Beach Resort. Here, the honorees will be celebrated for their hard work and also be presented with their award, which is a unique bowl created by local artist Javier Gaytan. The exquisite bowls are created using a raku firing technique to create the illusion of lava.
The awardees are not only honored at a gala, but previous winners have also been recognized at the state Capitol by state leaders, including the governor and state legislators. HAH is very grateful Gov. Josh Green takes time to celebrate the Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes, noting that since the governor is a physician himself, it makes the honor all the more meaningful.
“To be recognized as a Hero is great. To be recognized on the floor of the House and the Senate by the governor is also very special because there’s a very small group of individuals that have that opportunity,” Raethel adds.
Nominations for the Hawai‘i Healthcare Heroes program are open through May 27. To nominate a Hawai‘i Healthcare Hero, visit hah.org/heroes.
