HRH: Activities

ACTIVITIES

Guam / Micronesia Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
PIHOA provided technical assistance and funding to the University of Guam School of Nursing to obtain a $3M grant to establish a Guam/Micronesia AHEC (2009-2013). Included in grant writing team were representatives from the School of Nursing/UOG, John A. Burns School of Medicine, the College of Micronesia-FSM, College of the Marshall Islands, Guam Community College and PIHOA. The program is currently strengthening the nursing schools at COM-FSM, CMI, and UOG; has been instrumental in initiating the newly credited undergraduate Associate of Sciences Degree in Public Health (ASDPH) at COM-FSM; initiating or strengthening health careers readiness programs (foundation skills) at GCC, COM-FSM, and CMI; and strengthen mental health training at CMI.

Strategic HRH Planning
PIHOA contracted with WHO to develop local and regional action plans for the Human Resources for Health (HRH) among the USAPI and convened an HRH meeting on Guam to develop a regional HRH plan derived from these country plans.

Dental Workforce Training
Continues to work with the Pacific Basin Dental Association to develop a regional Community Oral Health Professional Training Program.

Promoting Health Careers among Regional Institutions of Higher Learning
Recruited the Pacific Postsecondary Education Council (PPEC) as an Affiliate member. This follows up PIHOA’s commitment in its 2006 Nahlap HRH Action Plan (Resolution #42-06) to work with local institutions of higher learning to develop their capacity to provide credited courses for regional HRH learning activities. An example is the PIHOA initiated conversation with FAS countries and the mental health and substance abuse (MH/SA) training agencies active in the region to translate MH/SA training into credited community college courses in order to professionally advance the regional MH/SA workforce. 

PIHOA HRH Committee, Roadmap, & Coordinator
In April 2008 formally convened the PIHOA Human Resources for Health Committee to give PIHOA guidance strengthening HRH capacity in the region. The Committee, following up on the 2006 WHO World and Regional HRH Reports and its own 2006 Nahlap HRH Action Plan, formally submitted and presented a position paper - “Human Resources for Health Challenges in the Freely Associated States of Micronesia” – at the Department of Interior sponsored “Future of Health Care in the Insular Areas: A Leader’s Summit” in September 2008 in Honolulu.

Associate Degree in Public Health, College of Micronesia, Federated States of Micronesia (COM-FSM)
One of the HRH Committee’s successes was actively supporting the COM-FSM in developing and implementing its Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC)-approved ASDPH program which began in August 2009. To move this ambitious agenda along, PIHOA, hired Dr. Greg Dever, Chairman of PIHOA’s HRH Committee, as its full-time Regional Coordinator of Human Resources for Health.