Teaching health center (THC) graduate medical education (GME) payment program - NA ohana O KA hale OLA family medicine residency program (NOKHO) is dedicated to promoting the aims of its accredited…

The Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration Bureau of Health Professionals awarded Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center $1,281,348 on March 1, 2026, under the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Payment Program (CFDA 93.530) to establish and operate Na Ohana O Ka Hale Ola (NOKHO), a three-year accredited family medicine residency program.

NOKHO trains family medicine residents in a community-based ambulatory setting to address the shortage of primary care physicians in the medically underserved Waianae Coast area of Oahu, Hawaii. The program serves a primarily Native Hawaiian population and emphasizes cultural competency, understanding of local social determinants of health, and health equity advocacy. The residency launches with three residents in academic year 2025–2026 and scales to nine residents by year three. Training takes place at the recipient's Nanakuli clinic on the Waianae Coast, where residents gain clinical experience while engaging with the community's disproportionately high burden of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and chronic lung and kidney disease.

Waianae District Comprehensive Health and Hospital Board, Incorporated, a Federally Qualified Health Center, is the recipient. The period of performance runs from March 1, 2026, through June 30, 2029, with place of performance in Waianae, Hawaii. The program's objective aligns with the THCGME program goal of expanding primary care medical residency training in community-based ambulatory care settings.

Teaching health center (THC) graduate medical education (GME) payment program - NA ohana O KA hale OLA family medicine residency program (NOKHO) is dedicated to promoting the aims of its accredited sponsoring institution (SI), waianae district comprehensive health and hospital board, incorporated DBA waianae coast comprehensive health center (WCCHC) (website: WWW.WCCHC.COM), in healing, learning and innovation, by training culturally competent family medicine physicians from diverse backgrounds to provide high quality, innovative and affordable healthcare to the most vulnerable populations in the state of hawaii. In response to the known shortage of primary care physicians in the medically underserved area serviced by our healthcare center, our vision is to create a new three-year family medicine training program for three residents in each year (three in academic year 2025-2026, increasing to nine residents in year 3), to train a new generation of family medicine physicians who are deeply connected to and rooted in their communities. We envision a residency program where trainees not only gain clinical expertise but also develop a profound understanding of local social determinants of health and a commitment to addressing the unique healthcare needs of the diverse population of native hawaiians and other pacific islanders at our nanakuli clinic. Through hands-on experience, tailored curriculum, and community engagement, we aim to cultivate skilled, compassionate, culturally competent, and socially responsible family medicine physicians who are advocates for health equity and agents of positive change in the communities they serve. NOKHO's main primary care training location is in nanakuli and serves a primarily native hawaiian population on the waianae coast of the island of oahu, in the state of hawaii. These patients experience disproportionally high rates of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancers, obstructive lung diseases, chronic kidney disease and obesity. The partnership with our affiliated hospital, the queen's medical center, which has one campus near our primary family medicine practice site, and one campus in the hub of honolulu, will allow for our residents to care for these patients across a spectrum of care settings. The residency program will operate as a stand-alone with residents starting in 2025. We anticipate that our efforts will lead to improved health outcomes, increased patient safety and satisfaction, and enhanced quality of care for the diverse populations we serve. WCCHC's main service area of the waianae coast is in a medically underserved area (MUA) - 00764 and has a current hpsa score of 21 for primary care, 22 for mental health, and 24 for dental.