MEDIA RELEASE

Wayne S. Higaki

KAMUELA, HI – North Hawaii Community Hospital (NHCH) Vice President of Public Affairs, Wayne S. Higaki, has been appointed by Governor Neil Abercrombie to the Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) and the Hawai‘i Subarea Health Planning Council (SAC) effective October 31, 2011.

The Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) serves as an advisory board to the State Health Planning and Development Agency (SHPDA) for health planning and development activities in Hawai‘i. The SHPDA’s purpose is to promote accessibility for all people in the State of Hawai‘i to quality health care services. This council’s functions include: administering Hawaii’s Certificate‐of‐Need (CON) program and preparing and revising the state’s Health Services and Facilities Plan (HSFP). Higaki is one of approximately 16 individuals to serve on the SHCC, including one other member from Hawai‘i Island.

The Hawai‘i Subarea Health Planning Council’s (SAC) purpose is to develop and implement the Hawai‘i Health Performance Plan (H2P2) in their local communities. H2P2 was developed in a partnership of Hawaii’s health care industry and communities statewide; this is the state’s statutorily mandated health services and facilities plan. It represents the foundation of all SHPDA activities. Its focus is on health care performance outcomes.

“I am honored to be given an opportunity to help with health care planning for Hawaii and I hope to make a positive impact on the planning process,” says Higaki, who has been an employee at NHCH since the hospital opened in 1996. He is the immediate Past President of the Hamakua Health Center Board of Directors, First Vice Chair of the County of Hawaii’s Workforce Investment Board, member of the Steering Committee for the Hawaii Island Healthcare Alliance, member of the County of Hawaii Mayor’s Healthcare Sustainability Taskforce and member of the County of Hawaii Committee on Aging. Higaki previously served on the SHCC from 2002 to 2010 and the SAC from 2001 to 2009.