The Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) is a community-based organization serving the unique health care needs of the residents of the Leeward Coast on the Island of O'ahu in the State of Hawai'i. Its mission is to make available to all residents of the Wai'anae District, complete comprehensive health and related human services. Based on the community’s concerns about lack of health care availability on the Wai`anae Coast, community members founded the WCCHC in 1972. The WCCHC serves the federally medically underserved rural community of Wai`anae and surrounding communities.
The WCCHC has developed a Health Careers Pipeline with the intention of providing local access to educational opportunities in health careers. The WCCHC’s Ho‘olokahi (to bring together many) Education Department has given leadership to the development of the Health Careers Pipeline. This “grow our own healers” initiative was born of the necessity to develop qualified health care providers to work in “medically underserved” communities such as the Wai‘anae community. The Wai‘anae Health Academy (WHA) is a program of the Health Careers Pipeline.The WCCHC has developed a Health Careers Pipeline with the intention of providing local access to educational opportunities in health careers.
WHA recognizes that literature on at-risk student populations and indigenous populations suggests several approaches to better accommodate the needs of students who come from a socio-economic and cultural background outside that of mainstream America. It was established as a means to offer educational, vocational and employment needs that exist for Wai‘anae Coast residents to gain meaningful employment and gain high-skills/high-wage positions. Now, enter RCHN. Through strong partnership with the WHA, the RCHN Ho`opulapula grant is able to target the progressive professional development needs of the WCCHC employees as well.
