The University of Hawaiʻi is creating a health registry to provide support and resources for anyone directly impacted by the Red Hill water crisis. The Red Hill Independent Health Registry (Red Hill Registry) is a UH Office of Strategic Health Initiatives project funded by a five-year, $27.2-million federal grant.
“The Red Hill Registry will be a tremendous step forward in serving the tens of thousands of individuals who were exposed or placed at risk of exposure to fuel releases from the Red Hill storage facility,” said UH President David Lassner. “The selection of UH to lead this major initiative is a testament to our expertise across multiple disciplines, our scientific independence, and our proven, widely understood ability to execute large complex programs that serve the people of Hawaiʻi.”
The opt-in, third-party registry will be co-developed with the community to provide connections to services and educational programs, while tracking participants’ health status and gathering information on how fuel exposures may impact health. In its first year, the project will also include a Congressionally mandated feasibility assessment for an epidemiological outcomes study to further advance the understanding of the long-term health effects related to the Red Hill fuel spill.
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In the coming months, the registry team will host community listening sessions and establish a community oversight working group to ensure that community voices are included at every step of the process. To support these efforts, the team will also seek to hire local community members, including individuals directly affected by the crisis, to support outreach, enrollment and referral services. A formal online registration portal for the registry is anticipated to launch in fall 2025. For now, individuals who are interested in receiving updates on the registry’s development and community engagement efforts are encouraged to sign up at this website.
“The health and social-emotional implications of the Red Hill water crisis on individuals and families, in addition to the environmental impacts, are critically important,” said Aimee Grace, principal investigator and director of the UH Office of Strategic Health Initiatives. “We see this registry as providing an important opportunity for individuals and families to share their stories and be linked to services, and be able to monitor their health over time.”
Funding was provided through the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. The registry was recommended and will be supported by the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Defense Health Agency. Participating units across UH include the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, John A. Burns School of Medicine, Water Resources Research Center and University Health Partners of Hawaiʻi.
