“If it were not for ʻImi, I would not be sitting in this chair right now.”
Those are the words of Gerard Akaka, a renowned physician and vice president of Native Hawaiian affairs and clinical support at the Queen’s Health System about the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine‘s (JABSOM) ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program.
“Being a VP and doing this work would never have happened. The same goes for all the people I was able to help and impact. It was ʻImi that made it possible.”
ʻImi Hoʻōla provides those who pass with a conditional acceptance to a U.S. medical school. In October, the program, credited with putting Akaka and more than 300 Native Hawaiians and others from underserved backgrounds on the path to medicine, celebrated its 50th anniversary.
A noble cause
ʻImi Hoʻōla in ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi means “those who seek to heal.” In 1973, it started as a pre-medical enrichment program for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students with the goal of creating physicians who reflect the communities they serve. Fifty years later, the mission is still the same, but has evolved to meet the needs of disadvantaged students from all backgrounds. ʻImi Hoʻōla does not make admissions decisions based on ethnicity or race.
“We want to meet the needs of those students who would not have the chance to enter JABSOM through its regular admissions pathway,” said Winona Lee, director of ʻImi Hoʻōla. “They may be first-generation college students or English language learners. Our program opens the door and allows them to walk through to give them that opportunity to really serve the people of Hawaiʻi.”
ʻImi Hoʻōla was founded by Benjamin Young. Now 85, he was one of the first Native Hawaiian physicians and the first Native Hawaiian psychiatrist.
“I was heading to middle schools, high schools and colleges and meeting with the counselors, finding out who their brightest students are who were interested in medicine—but thought they could never do it because their MCAT scores were low. All they needed was a review of pre-med chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, zoology and they could possibly get into medical school,” Young said in an interview.
He shared the story of ʻImi‘s first student, Chiyome Fukino. Young met her father as he was purchasing a vacuum cleaner. He mentioned ʻImi Hoʻōla and encouraged Fukino’s father to have her apply. She completed the program and eventually became the State Director of Health for Hawaiʻi.
Producing Hawaiʻi‘s leaders
Fukino and Akaka’s stories are not rare. For the last 50 years, many ʻImi graduates have made indelible impacts on the health of Hawaiʻi and beyond.
Former ʻImi Hoʻōla director, Nanette Judd said many have gone on to hold key leadership positions at JABSOM and throughout the state.
“Many of them have gone on to be chairs of departments,” she said. “Dr. Neal Palafox was one of our early students in the program. He’s devoted more than a quarter-century to improving the health of Pacific Islander populations. Dr. Naleen Andrade chaired the Department of Psychiatry. She also chaired the board of Queen’s Health System. These are just two examples of our leaders. They’re also mentors, and that mentorship is so important because when the students see them, they know they can do it, because they’re being mentored by people who have done it.”
The next 50 years
On October 28, ʻImi Hoʻōla celebrated its golden anniversary at the Koʻolau Ballrooms with current students and past graduates who reminisced on this significant milestone. Alumna Angela Pratt unveiled a preview of a documentary chronicling the rich legacy of the program, Young reflected on the evolution of ʻImi, and Palafox served as featured keynote speaker.
“I think of Dr. Ben Young, Dr. Kekuni Blaisdell, Dr. Nanette Judd and Dean Rogers back in the 70s. I was around when those guys were dreaming about this,” Akaka said. “We are fulfilling the dream. When you look at…the other ʻImis, and what they’ve gone on to do, the quality of their work and the heart—it’s their pono (goodness), humble, hard-working and wanting to serve. I think they would be proud and happy that ʻImi is in good hands and on the path they always hoped and prayed for.”
