“Thank you very much for having a safe place like this for people like me to come and heal. You made this COVID experience a lot easier for me and my family,” said one Open Arms Harbor guest. 

Approximately 42% of the guests were Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, most of which came from large family households that made it difficult to isolate or quarantine safely. Staff provided culturally and linguistically-tailored services to one in five guests in a Micronesian language and seven additional guests in Ilocano. 

Open Arms Harbor first welcomed guests on November 6th in a unique partnership between the Partners in Development Foundation (PIDF), the City and County of Honolulu, and the Department of Health. Staff provided daily wellness checks, case management for transitions from shelters or homes, to hospitals, to the hotel, and outward to their healthy destination, distributed meals three times a day as well as snacks and water. They also stopped to talk-story or share in a much-needed laugh with people separated from their family and friends and yearning for social connections.

“It was a meaningful partnership effort. At PIDF, we were compelled by the urgency of COVID-related needs in our communities to step up and stretch our arms around people who needed help to keep their families safe. I’m proud of our staff, none of whom had done this before, they really made all the difference,” said Shawn Kanaʻiaupuni, President and CEO of PIDF. 

All staff members were trained and certified in cleaning via GBAC, a nationally accredited association and received hands-on training to be well-versed in guest management and safety protocols. This workforce opportunity allowed PIDF to recruit and train community members wanting work during an economically troubled time, all with a shared commitment to aloha and genuinely care for our guests as part of our ʻohana.

“Everyone that comes onto our site, we treat them as if they are our family members,” said Perlas Bardouche, Open Arms Harbor site manager. Staff provided services beyond what was expected despite significant risk to themselves and their families. “It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, you’re still a person that needs help and assistance.”

During the holidays the staff called vendors, friends, and other community players to round up donations like toys, books, supplies such as diapers, bottles, toiletries, gift cards, and even gingerbread house kits. The gifts were wrapped up and delivered door to door to show the guests they are appreciated and even though they are not able to be with their families during the holidays, “it’s our way of extending our family,” Bardouche said. 

The quarantine experience can be lonely, especially on birthdays. For one guest, staff arranged with their significant other to deliver a cake along with a surprise facetime call. Another couple were in separate rooms to quarantine safely. Learning of how lonely they were without each other, staff went out of their way to coordinate meal deliveries so that they could facetime and eat dinner “together”, despite the separation. They made friends with children, and went out of their way to find special treats that kept guests smiling.

Even with PIDF’s experience during the last 24 years of supporting healthy and resilient communities, no one could have prepared us for the pandemic that hit our islands one year ago. Running this hotel facility was a new one for our organization. Like us, the pandemic saw so many people, partners and organizations across the state who stretched in new ways, standing up to support families in need, including ensuring that our community members had places to heal during this vulnerable time.

“Across Hawaiʻi, our community response to this coronavirus pandemic is proof of how resilient we are, how innovative we can be, and how we can partner in new ways to do things we never thought possible,” said Kanaʻiaupuni. 

Josie Howard

Executive Director,
We Are Oceania

During surges of COVID-19 in the Islands last year, Jocelyn “Josie” Howard and another We Are Oceania staff member took food, masks, dignity bags and other personal necessities to more than 100 Pacific Islander families every month.

Then the nonprofit added staff and increased donations to more than 200 food boxes and 600 hot meals every week.

The efforts were just Howard’s latest in a lifetime spent supporting her fellow Micronesians in Hawai‘i – who at times throughout last year suffered more than a quarter of all confirmed coronavirus cases while being just 4% of the local population.

“I believe this is my calling and my purpose,” Howard says. “From a young age I left home and sacrificed a lot to be educated so that I can learn how to care for my community.”

Howard says she left her Chuuk home on Onoun Island, in the Namonweito Atoll, at 13 for high school on another Micronesian island; at 20 she came to Hawai‘i for advanced college, hoping to train as a physician and then take her expertise home.

But with no hospital or electricity on her island, she rethought her plan and decided to focus on making life better for Micronesians who had come to Hawai‘i seeking better jobs, health care and lives.

“There was such a great need for service providers to understand how to work specifically with our people, and we realized at the same time that our people needed help to navigate the system.”

Howard has also worked in Department of Education schools as a cultural resource for Pacific Islander students and families, and also at Goodwill Industries. Her community often turns to her for help.

“Navigation is not only for the ocean, it’s for life,” she explains. “You navigate the currents of life. My grandfather told me that to be home, and to be able to be whole, you have to be palu: a master navigator in navigating life. At home they know how to navigate, but when they come here they don’t, so having a onestop is a start.”

That’s what We Are Oceania has become: a one-stop center that guides Pacific Islanders through whatever needs or concerns they have.

Lillian Segal, who serves on We Are Oceania’s board, says Howard is a constant source of inspiration.

“I’m always learning from Josie,” writes Segal in an email. “Josie is a strong, compassionate and dedicated leader who works tirelessly for her community on a daily basis.”

For some, it’s not easy to isolate or quarantine after being exposed to or testing positive for Covid-19. In Hawaiʻi, the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities are the hardest hit by the virus, largely because many ʻohana live in multigenerational homes.

That’s why the Partners in Development Foundation partnered with the Department of Health to minimize the impact and spread of Covid-19 with Open Arms Harbor, an iso-qurantine hotel that provides a safe and compassionate place for healing, with staff who perform daily wellness checks, meals, and case management care to connect guests with resources within the community.

To support our efforts or for more information on Covid-19 response and resources, visit our Covid Response page. Mahalo nui for your support in helping us create healthy and resilient communities.

The Behaviorial Health & Homelessness Statewide Unified Response Group featured our Open Arms Harbor Case Managers and Staff for this issue’s BHHSURG: Provider Hero—Iso/Qar Hotels Case Managers.

“In response to the need for individuals and families to have a safe place to isolate and quarantine in the midst of COVID-19, the Department of Health (DOH) partnered with the City and County of Honolulu (C&C) to provide intake and support services for isolation and quarantine. This includes the use of over 300 hotel rooms in Honolulu for people who are unable to isolate themselves due to their living conditions or other constraints. DOH provides case management and wrap-around services to support individuals and families who need resources and social services during their 14-day isolation or quarantine. 

A group of outstanding case management teams stepped up to become service providers for the isolation and quarantine sites to provide support during this overwhelming, stressful, and frightening time. BHHSURG would like to recognize these outstanding teams from Care Hawaiʻi, Community Empowerment Resource, Hawaiʻi Health and Harm Reduction Center, Institute for Human Services, North Shore Mental Health, and Partners in Development Foundation. Mahalo for suiting up and showing up in response to the community’s need!

The dedication and work of these unsung health heroes have been featured in KHON2’s Living808 segments:

• Recognizing Health Heroes Who Help COVID Patients Through Quarantine
• Unsung Health Heroes Help COVID Positive People Through Quarantine & Isolation
• Department of Health Isolation and Quarantine Program

For 24/7 local support, call Hawai‘i CARES at 832-3100 or 1-800-753-6879 or text ALOHA to 741741. Caring, local staff are standing by to provide help during isolation and quarantine, crisis support, mental health resources, and substance use treatment services to anyone who needs it.

Those living on the neighbor islands requesting COVID-19 assistance are encouraged to call their District Health Offices for information and guidance (hours may vary).

• Hawaiʻi County
  • Hilo (808) 974-6006
  • Kona (808) 322-4880
  • Waimea (808) 887-8114
• Maui County
  • Monday-Friday 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM: (808) 984-8200
  • After hours: 1 (800) 360-2575
• Kauaʻi County:
  • Monday-Friday 7:45 AM – 4:30 PM: (808) 241-3495
  • After hours: 1 (800) 241-3496″

Original post can be found on KHON2’s Living808 segment, khon2.com/living-808/health-living-808/unsung-health-heroes-help-covid-positive-people-through-quarantine-isolation/

by: Tannya Joaquin Posted: Dec 16, 2020 / 03:07 PM HST / Updated: Dec 16, 2020 / 03:44 PM HSTjavascript:false

Honolulu (KHON2) – A Hawaii man who tested positive for COVID shared how the Department of Health Isolation and Quarantine Program and Partners in Development Foundation helped him and his wife through the trying health battle.

Paul Kuoha quarantined November 10th – 19th at Harbor Arms. “I lived in a community church home when I tested positive for COVID,” explains Kuoha. “I was unable to isolate properly. When I contracted COVID from work, I self-isolated in a tent in front of my home. It was a very lonely and difficult experience, and that’s when the church connected me with Harbor Arms.”

He adds that the mental side effects were a challenge, saying, “At first, I was angry and I didn’t want to go. But I didn’t want to risk infecting my loved ones, so when I arrived they prepped me with some informational packets that suggested I stay offline from watching too much news and just focus on my health, they just made sure I was comfortable. My wife was in the room upstairs and during our meal times, we would zoom call each other. It made all the difference that the staff made this happen and helped us.”

Dr. Shawn Malia Kana‘iaupuni, President and CEO, Partners in Development Foundation explained how the program works. “The Department of Health partnered with the City and County to provide intake and support services for isolation and quarantine, including the use of over 300 hotel rooms in Honolulu,” says Kana‘iaupuni. “This is for people who are unable to isolate due to their living conditions or other constraints. DOH provides case management and wrap-around services to support families and individuals who need resources and social services during their 14-day isolation or quarantine.”

“I learned that Covid is no joke,” shares Kuoha. “It can be really scary and really lonely to go through this process and even more to not infect anybody else. But I learned there are really amazing people and organizations that truly care about keeping us safe.”

Kana‘iaupuni adds, “ I’ve learned how sharply this pandemic has affected our mental health, especially for those in isolation or quarantine. I’ve also been reminded that vulnerable populations, particularly non-English speaking population and large families with children, need extra support in order to complete a successful quarantine.”

If you or someone you know is struggling, please call Hawai‘i CARES at 1-800-753-6879 or text ALOHA to 741741, available 24/7. Caring, local staff are standing by to provide help during isolation and quarantine, crisis support, mental health resources, and substance use treatment services to anyone who need

To learn more visit: https://hawaiicovid19.com/testing-isolation-quarantine/

To learn more about Partners in Development https://pidf.org/