Inspire 2023

Wilcox: Growing Opportunities on the Garden Isle

Nurse Aide Program students in clinical training at Kapaa High School.

Plant seeds, water them and watch them grow. That’s the idea behind Hawaii Pacific Health’s Nurse Aide Program. In December, seven Kapaa High School students were honored at Wilcox Medical Center as the program’s first graduates on the Garden Isle. The program, which launched on Kauai at Kapaa High in 2022, gives students the opportunity to enter the health care field immediately after graduation.

“The Nurse Aide Program provides us an opportunity to further our education and seek out health care jobs without ever having to leave Kauai, so we can continue to do what we love to do,” said Kapaa senior Kiani Pia Salvador. “It's mindblowing that I can get a job straight out of high school, especially at Wilcox. It's amazing.”

Students get a valuable lesson in patient care by working with classmates.

The semester-long program includes a minimum of 70 hours in the classroom and 40 hours of hands-on clinical training. All classes are taught by experienced HPH health care professionals who cover multiple topics, including infection control, safety, basic nursing and personal care skills, and patients’ rights. Graduates of the program can demonstrate 87 fundamental nurse aide skills and are given priority employment consideration at HPH facilities.

HPH started the Nurse Aide Program on Oahu in 2019 to provide the specialized training needed for acute care settings such as medical centers — something that was lacking in the state. The program was brought to Kauai in 2022 thanks to a $60,000 gift from Wilcox Health Foundation donors Bill Karst and Ginny Merdes.

“We have learned so much just by supporting this program,” Ginny said. “Meeting the people involved, from the administrators and teachers to the kids themselves, has been so enriching for us and it makes us want to keep going.”

“We hope the little bit we put toward helping these students will have a big impact downstream in their lives,” Bill said. “It is our hope that they’ll not only get a jumpstart on a career in health care on Kauai, but they’ll also be able to impact their community.”