This spring, Maui Economic Development Board’s STEMworks™ program organized three Healthcare Exploration Day events with Maui Health. The events, hosted by the Maui Health team at Maui Memorial Medical Center (MMMC) and made possible by generous funding from the County of Maui, aimed to inspire and educate students from middle and high school campuses across Maui, Molokai, and Lāna’i. In total, 11 schools, 260 students, and 20 healthcare professionals participated in hands-on activities, seeing first-hand how students can make a difference in their communities by learning life-saving skills.

The events began with moving pules by Kumu Iolani Kuoha and Kumu Luana Kawa’a, which acknowledged the land served by Maui Nui’s healthcare professionals. The students then learned about the dangers of distracted driving from MMMC nursing staff. Additional breakout sessions were held on stop the bleed skills, hands-on compressions, automated external defibrillator (AED) use, recognizing signs of stroke, trauma resuscitation techniques, the role of respiratory therapy in healthcare, imaging technology, and volunteer opportunities at the hospital.

The third event in the series also featured Marian Horikawa-Barth, Chief Nurse Executive for MMMC. She spoke to the students about her role and the critical need in Maui County for more medical professionals. “As we face a growing shortage of healthcare professionals, this event is not just an educational opportunity, but a crucial step towards inspiring the next generation,” said Lalaine Pasion, STEMworks program specialist. “By bringing together Maui’s health professionals to demonstrate a variety of medical fields, we aimed to spark interest in healthcare careers at an early age.”

Lynn A. Fulton, Maui Health CEO, noted, “Maui Health provides a great opportunity for students to be able to build a career. There is nothing like seeing what happens in a hospital through interactions with the people who work here.”

Maui Health Human Resources Leader Tara K. Cole shared, “Healthcare Exploration Day is designed to provide students, who are interested in healthcare but are perhaps not sure which field will best suit their gifts and goals, a chance to learn about all that our programs have to offer. Positions are available right out of high school.”

For more information, visit mauiheath.org/careers online or call 808-242-2251 on Wednesdays to speak to a recruiter.