Bank helps keiki with school supplies
Central Pacific Bank helped 1,050 low-income children return to school with basic supplies by partnering last month with Helping Hands Hawaii to collect school material and monetary donations for the Ready to Learn program.
The bank also sponsored an essay contest asking students to answer the question, "Why is school important to you?"
Winners are Kyle Hasegawa of Manoa (6-and-under category), Henson Cheung of Aiea (ages 7 to 9) and Chanel Tanoue of Mililani (ages 9 to 11). Each received an iPad mini and a stuffed animal version of the CPB dog mascot, Alex.
Established in 1999 by the nonprofit Helping Hands Hawaii, Ready to Learn is recognized by the state Department of Education. Helping Hands Hawaii works with government agencies, social service agencies and community organizations to distribute the donated supplies to students in kindergarten through high school statewide.
OHA provides grant to address obesity
The Queen’s Medical Center has received a $433,000 grant from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to address physical activity and obesity-related health problems in Native Hawaiians in Hana, Maui.
Obesity is the No. 1 health risk factor in Hawaii and significantly affects other diseases, according to the state Department of Health. The project will focus on building a community-based program, called Hana Ulu Pono, to increase physical activity and improve nutrition through cultural activities.
Grant aims to improve primary care
UnitedHealthcare has awarded a $250,000 grant to Hilo Medical Center to fund a primary-care training program to improve medical services for East Hawaii residents. The program will train family medicine residents at the Hawaii Island Family Health Center and provide primary-care services to local children, adults and families.
The program, designed to increase access to quality primary care in the rural community and alleviate a shortage of physicians, is in collaboration with the University of Hawaii-Hilo School of Nursing, the Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy, the UH-Manoa School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, and the John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry.
Hilo Medical Center is part of Hawaii Health Systems Corp., the state’s public hospital system.
Fed says big banks must improve reserves
WASHINGTON » The Federal Reserve says the nation’s largest banks need to do a better job of determining how much capital they need to cushion against a future crisis.
The Fed says a study shows that banks have made progress in preparing for stresses like those brought by the 2008 financial crisis. But it says banks must go further by accounting for specific risks that relate to their business activities. The Fed has been conducting annual stress tests on the biggest banks since 2009. The next round will include the 18 largest banks and an additional 12 firms that will participate for the first time next year.
Hedge fund owner, firm to settle with SEC
NEW YORK » Hedge fund titan Phil Falcone and his firm, Harbinger Capital Partners, will pay $18 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges over Falcone’s use of firm money and other accusations, regulators said Monday.
Falcone and his firm must also admit wrongdoing, a departure from many recent SEC settlements that allowed financial firms and employees to neither admit nor deny guilt. Falcone is also barred from the securities industry for five years.
ON THE MOVE
The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort, has announced Charlene Naka?mura as its director of sales and marketing. She has more than 30 years of knowledge and experience in the hospitality industry, including time as director of sales at the Kahala Hotel & Resort, director of group sales at the former Waikiki Edition and director of national accounts at Marriott Resorts Hawaii.
First Insurance Co. of Hawaii has appointed Nina Ota assistant vice president of agency relations. Ota started at FICOH?in 1998 as a career trainee and held numerous positions over the next 10 years.
Hawaii Pacific University has announced Lynette Landry will be dean for HPU’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences as of January. Landry is currently the director of School of Nursing at San Francisco State University and served as a nursing professional in the Bay Area for 20 years.
