The HMSA Foundation awarded $450,494 in grants to 10 health programs and community organizations in the fourth quarter of last year. The recipients were:

» University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine, $200,000, to support the Rural Family Practice Residency Program in Hilo.

» Aloha Medical Mission, $150,000, to expand the Honolulu Dental Clinic’s services. The clinic collaborates with elementary schools on a dental care educational outreach program for kindergarten students and their parents.

» Na Pu‘uwai, $31,000, to support the Molokai Drugs Health Care Program in educating people with diabetes on the importance of taking their medication. The program places 50 participants of Native Hawaiian ancestry and other minority groups in individual or support-group settings.

» American Lung Association in Hawaii, $25,000, to Maopopo Oli Hano (Understanding Asthma): Asthma Education and Management for Native Hawaiian Children, Their Families and Caregivers. Programs provide education to teachers, children and adults.

» National Alliance on Mental Illness Hawai‘i, $20,000, to help families cope with a mental illness, as well as to help people with a mental illnesses avoid becoming homeless

» American Diabetes Association, $5,000, to support the 9th Annual Professional Symposium "2011-Diabetes Below the Belt Line." The symposium helped primary care doctors, pharmacists, dietitians, nurses, certified diabetes educators and others learn the latest on diabetes.

» Faith Action for Community Equity, $5,000, for health education for low-income and homeless people in Central Oahu.

» Mala‘ai: The Culinary Garden of Waimea Middle School, $5,000, to support Diabetes Slam Poetry and to develop lessons with students that will include self-assessments, physical activity and the creation of slam poetry.

» Surfrider Spirit Sessions, $5,000, for Junior Mentor Training with program materials for youth training and neighbor island expansion.

» Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, $4,494, for the staff from community health centers to attend the Healthcare Financial Management Annual Conference in April.

OHA SENDS $1.5M TO CHARTER SCHOOLS

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs recently approved $1.5 million in emergency funding to deal with budget shortfalls at Hawaiian-focused public charter schools. According to OHA, the funding will support more than 4,000 students at 17 schools with enrollments that are 91 percent Hawaiian. Schools are on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Hawaii island.