Faye Watanabe Kurren, president and chief executive officer of Hawaii Dental Service, is retiring at the end of the year to spend more time with family and start on her long "bucket list."
Kurren, 63, has led the dental group for the past 11 years and was previously president of Tesoro Hawaii Corp.
"I’ve accomplished everything that I wanted to do at Hawaii Dental Service, so it’s time to hand the baton to the next person," she said in an interview with the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. "I’m certainly looking at traveling and also looking at getting the house together — all those things that you can’t do when you’ve just got the weekend."
Kurren has put HDS on a solid path for the future, leaving the company in "excellent shape," said Michael O’Malley, chairman of the HDS board and partner in law firm Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel. "We regret her decision to retire and thank her for her outstanding leadership."
The company said recruitment to fill the CEO position is underway.
HDS, the state’s largest dental benefits provider, has grown to more than 600,000 enrollees in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan as well as on the mainland. HDS is an affiliate of the national Delta Dental Plans Association.
Among Kurren’s greatest achievements is helping HDS make oral health care more accessible and affordable to all Hawaii residents. During her tenure the company expanded dental plans and services to the neediest populations.
HDS began offering dental coverage in 2013 to beneficiaries of the state’s Medicaid (QUEST) health insurance program for low-income residents. It also started selling group and individual dental plans through the Hawaii Health Connector, the online insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act, to further reach the uninsured or underinsured, as well as small businesses.
"We really feel it’s important that as a dental benefits company we are aware of the things that can be done," Kurren said. "We tried very hard to identify the needs in our community and fill those needs to the extent possible. Of course we’re a business, but in the end we are a nonprofit and that’s our mission, so I feel very good about being able to truly deliver on that mission in our community."
Kurren helped to significantly increase funding for programs that provide oral health education and access to dental care on Oahu and the neighbor islands. The HDS Foundation spent more than $400,000 last year on oral health education and dental services for underserved populations.
Kurren said she will continue to be involved in the community as a board member for a number of organizations, including the Hawaii Health Connector.
"I’m pleased that I’m able to retire with a great deal of satisfaction," Kurren said. "It’s really been a good run, and I’m looking forward to that bucket list and spending more time with my family," including her 15-month-old grandson. "I’m trying really hard to be a part of his life."
