LIHUE — Michael Stollar, new president and CEO of Hawaii Medical Service Association, is looking forward to widening the organization’s focus from covering health care costs and prevention techniques like immunizations to including other aspects of health and wellness.
“We’ll still be doing all of that; we just want to find ways of moving upstream and making the medical system more sustainable,” Stollar said. “It’s looking at things like bike paths and making things available to people.”
Fostering community connection, encouraging programs that lead to healthy diet and exercise choices, and educating the public on their best chances for health and well-being are all ways HMSA may help promote wellness.
Kauai is inspiring on that front, Stollar said, because the county government is already partnering with the state Department of Health, Wilcox Hospital and other organizations to create health and wellness opportunities with things like Get Fit Kauai.
“Homelessness, for instance, isn’t something we traditionally address, but having a home is important for health,” Stollar said. “And the homeless population accounts for a large amount of health care costs.”
For example, HMSA is constructing a 24-hour urgent care center with Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu with mental and primary health services, as well as other services specifically for the homeless population.
According to the Hawaii Health Information Corp., state hospital bills totaled $214 million for caring for the homeless in 2016. Compare that to $70.5 million in 2010.
Stollar stopped by The Garden Island office on Friday afternoon during the first stop on a listening tour of the Neighbor Islands, during which he’s meeting with county officials, key community members, representatives of the Department of Health and HMSA staff members.
Stollar was born in Saskatchewan, Canada, and went to school for a biology degree in Boston. He joined the Peace Corps and volunteered in the Kingdom of Tonga for three years. He got his first job with HMSA in 1986, as a staff assistant in the underwriting department.
“I’ve been with HMSA for 32 years and this isn’t the first time for me on Kauai, but it is the first time in this capacity,” he said. “It’s been great getting out here and talking story and meeting a few folks that I haven’t met yet.”
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Jessica Else, environmental reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
