Clinic created by JABSOM professor receives $223,000 from HCF

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Feb 22, 2010

Path Clinic mom Nancy Nakihei and her son in February 2008
Path Clinic mom Nancy Nakihei and her son in February 2008
The Hawai‘i Community Foundation has awarded a $223,000 three-year grant to the Path Clinic, which provides care, counseling, and social services to pregnant and recently delivered women on O‘ahu, focusing on the needs of women struggling with addictions. Dr. Tricia Wright, assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Women’s Health at UH Mānoa’s John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM), is Path Clinic founder.
 
“This three-year grant has allowed us to establish ‘The Path Clinic Smoke Free Program,’” said Dr. Wright. “Research has shown that smoking by mothers may adversely affect pregnancy and child outcomes even more than illegal drug use does. We strongly encourage women we see to stop smoking, and this grant will enable us to expand our focus and intensify our efforts.”
 
The Path Clinic has provided prenatal care to more than 200 women since it was founded in 2007 with initial support from the Hawai‘i State Legislature. The clinic, located in Kaimuki, provides mothers-to-be with frequent appointments with a consistent obstetrician, frequent ultrasounds, substance abuse information and counseling, and the opportunity to learn self-care and parenting skills.  Its patients are women and families who often have no where else to turn.
 
“JABSOM faculty members share Hawai‘i Community Foundation’s commitment to fighting tobacco use and treating its consequences,” said Dr. Jerris Hedges, dean of JABSOM. “We are thankful to the Hawai‘i Community Foundation for the contributions it has made to more than 44 island organizations, including the Path Clinic.”
 
Hedges also noted that the Kaka’ako campus could not have been built nor sustained without a portion of the tobacco settlement monies that the Hawai‘i State Legislature committed to the school.
 
The Hawai‘i Community Foundation, a statewide charitable foundation, oversees the Hawai‘i Tobacco Prevention and Control Trust Fund for the Hawai‘i State Department of Health. The fund was created in 1999, with money that was awarded to Hawai‘i to settle its part of a lawsuit against major tobacco manufacturers. The purpose of the fund is to lessen the effects of smoking and promote tobacco cessation.
 
For more information about The Path Clinic, contact Renee Schutter, R.N., executive director at 734-2034 or visit: http://pathclinic.org.