Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 4, 1 April 2021 — Collaborating to Combat COVID-19 [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Collaborating to Combat COVID-19

ByCheryl CheeTsutsumi In October 2020, Wai'anae, home to more Native Hawaiians than any other zip code in Hawai'i, experienced a dramatic peak in COVID-19 positivity: 18.5 percent. The Hawai'i State Department of Heahh declared the area a hotspot. By November, Wai 'anae's positivity rate was 12 percent - better, but far from ideal. Dr. Nalani Blaisdell-Brennan, who has been with the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Heahh Center (WCCHC) for 14 years, sent out a kāhea to Dr. Gerard Akaka, vice president of Native Hawaiian Affairs and Clinical Support for The Qucen's Heahh Systems and former medical director of WCCHC, and Dr. Marcus Iwane, an internal medicine physician at Kaiser Permanente's Nanaikeola Clinic in Nānākuli. They began meeting weekly with Ku'ulei Birnie, communications coordinator for Papa Ola Lōkahi, a nonprofit that focuses on Native Hawaiian heahh and wellbeing, to strategize ways to improve the statistics. The CDC had been widely broadcasting the importance of wearing masks, washing hands and social distancing to stop the spread of COVID-19. The Hawaiian kauka real-

ized to have an impact with a Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) audience, however, the message needed to be shared in a culturally meaningful way. They landed upon the idea of creating a Public Service Announcement (PSA) featuring a beloved member of the community. According to Blaisdell-Brennan, few people are more trusted and respected in Wai'anae than famed waterman Buffalo Keaulana and his loving wife of 60 years, Momi. Through his job as a lifeguard at Mākaha Beach, Buffalo has been credited with saving thousands of lives. "We wanted a warm approach where family members could speak from the heart about the importance of legacy, kuleana and 'ohana as they relate to the pandemic," Blais-dell-Brennan said. "It took many phone calls and personal visits to convince Unele Buff and Aunty Momi to participate; they do not seek the limelight. However, the message of saving lives resonated with the family's ethos. Brian is their eldest child. As busy as he is with his work as a stunt coordinator and second-unit aehon director for movies and TV shows, he said, 'This is what we do; we help people.'" The weather was perfect on the day of the shoot. First,

the crew planned to film Brian's segment at Mākaha Beach; after that, they would meet Unele Buffalo and Aunty Momi at their home. "We were going to do just one 30-second PSA," Blaisdell-Brennan said. "Then eame the unexpected: Unscripted, Aunty Momi delivered her own personal PSA in one take! She ended it with a heartfelt plea: 'Please, everyone. The life you save may be your own. Mahalo, Ke Akua.'" Brian's PSA includes photos of his large, close-knit family. "Why should I care?" he asks in the spot. "Because I love my 'ohana. [Staying safe from the virus] takes all of us together." His father-in-law passed away in February after eontracting COVID-19, so he fully understands the grief and anguish so many people are going through from losing a loved one to the disease. It' s easy to worry, to be afraid, but the antidote, he believes, is following the facts and science rather than listening to rumors and conspiracy theories. SEE C0MBAT C0VID-19 ON PAGE 9

(L-R) Dr. Nalani Blaisdell-Brennan, Dr. Marcus Iwane, Brian Keaulana, Dr. Gerard Akaka and Ku'ulei Birnie teamed togelher to create two puhlie service announcements targeting Native Hawaiian and Pacific lslander communities to help educate Ihem ahoul C0VID-1 9 and the importance of ongoing vigilance to protect against this potentially deadly disease,- Photo: Renea l 'eneh Stewart

COMBAT C0VID-19 Continued from page 8

Dr. Nalani Blaisdell-Brennan and Brian Keaulana.- Photo: Courtesy

"The oeean has been the lifeblood of my family for decades, but we know it ean also be dangerous," Brian said. "My dad taught us kids to understand danger and to face our fears. If you have knowledge, you're not going to have fear." Like his father, Brian is a veteran surfer, lifeguard and all-around waterman; he has also developed water safety training programs for military special operations forces and prestigious surfing events around the world. He sees the pandemic as the biggest wave he's ever had to conquer. "I feel like it's holding me underwater, but I know I have to relax, hold my breath and hope

all the risk mitigation procedures I've learned will take me to a safe plaee," he said. "Education is the best tool we have when we need to make decisions that could mean life or death." To that end, OHA is one of 40-plus agencies, organizations and state departments in the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Hawai'i COVID-19 Response, Recovery and Resilience Team (NHPI 3R), whieh was formed last May to address the impact of the pandemic on NHPI communities. As the "haekhone" of that eoalihon, Papa Ola Lōkahi paid for the production of the two Keaulana PSAs and the airing of them during 569 prime morning and evening slots on KGMB, KHNL and KFVE from February through May. "We've established partnerships to produce other PSAs, manage a website [www.NHPICOVIDHawaii.net] and create a repository of in-language resources for the purpose of providing accurate and timely information to the Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities that we serve," Birnie said. "These projects are part of the NHPI 3R Team's mission to improve the collection and reporting of accurate C0VID-19 data, support statewide initiatives that address NHPI concerns and maintain a strong voice in the decision-making processes that affect our eommunities." Along with mandated mask use and greater availability of vaccines, these efforts are yielding promising results. As this issue went to press in late March, Wai'anae's positivity rate was down to one percent, with no more than 10 known active COVID-19 cases. ■ Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi has written 12 books and countless newspaper, magazine and website articles about Hawai'i's history, culture, food and lifestyle.

Hill f t | i Buffalo and Momi Keaulana with their son, Brian.- Photo: Renea Zeneri Stewart