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Interprofessional Teams Work Together to Keep Kids Healthy and in School

Earlier this year, UH Manoa Nursing received funding for the Hawaii Interprofessional Education and Collaborative (HIPEC) Alliance. The purpose of the HIPEC Alliance is to address the complex health needs of keiki through the provision of services at school-based health centers so that students can remain in school. Ultimately, improvement in keiki health will reduce missed school days and facilitate student learning. It will also provide opportunities for health promotion and disease prevention initiatives to improve family and community health.

Hawaii Interprofessional Education and Collaborative (HIPEC) Alliance group photo

The approach accelerates the integration of interprofessional education and collaborative practice by teams of health professionals that work to address health issues for keiki and their families. The HIPEC Alliance team is comprised of a school-based nurse practitioner as the team leader, nurse practitioner students, fourth year clinical pharmacy students, child/adolescence psychiatry fellows, faculty from each of the partnering schools, and a community-based pediatric dentist. The team will use a liaison model for facilitating access to resources recommended by the team members by working with school staff, existing school programs and community health services.

This program builds on existing partnerships and initiatives of the UH Manoa Nursing including the Hawaii Department of Education’s Hawaii Keiki Healthy and Ready to Learn Program, the UHM College of Health Sciences and Social Welfare’s Interprofessional Education Initiative (IPE), and the Hawaii State Center for Nursing’s Hawaii Action Coalition’s advancement of nursing leadership for the State.

The project received funding from the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education which is supported by a Health Resources and Services Administration Cooperative Agreement Award No. UE5HP25067. The National Center is also funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the John A. Hartford Foundation, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the University of Minnesota. Matching funds were provided by the Hawaii State Center for Nursing’s Hawaii Action Coalition.

For more information about the HIPEC Alliance, please contact Dr. Maureen Shannon at (808) 956-4917 or maureens@hawaii.edu.

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