Fellows mentioned in this story: Vicky Hanes

From Hawai‘i Business Magazine:

Vicky Hanes works for “healthcare’s best kept secret” – her term for community health centers. About 1,500 are located across the country, including 14 in Hawaiʻi.

Hanes is Chief Operating Officer at the Hawaiʻi Island Community Health Center, overseeing a staff of nearly 500 professionals who provide primary care services, including medical, dental, behavioral health and social services, to 40,000 people on the island.

She also is a clinical psychologist and an outspoken advocate for the role of primary care in reducing healthcare costs. She wants to flip the focus on paying for care after people get sick to prevention efforts.

“I don’t think people know about community health centers and how critical we are to the healthcare system in our country,” Hanes says. “We take care of people throughout the life span. We take care of mommies when they’re pregnant, we take care of babies when they’re born, we take care of pediatrics, we take care of adults, we take care of you when you’re well and when you’re sick, and we take care of our kūpuna.”

Continue reading at HawaiiBusiness.com.