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The William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa has announced an exciting collaboration between the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i (MLPC) and Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children. This partnership, which began earlier this year and officially launched on Nov. 18, expands the reach of MLPC’s critical work, addressing the social factors that impact child and family well-being.
The new MLPC program site at Kapi‘olani Medical Center was funded by the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) through a grant to address health disparities and advance health equity. This partnership builds on the MLPC’s long-standing relationship with Kōkua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services (KKV). Since 2009, the MLPC has worked closely with KKV to provide free legal services to low-income families, focusing on medical-legal issues like housing stability, income support and family law.
The MLPC is a unique initiative that pairs legal professionals with health care providers to tackle issues affecting patients’ overall health and well-being. This model, now being implemented at Kapi‘olani, involves offering on-site legal services at the medical center, educating health care professionals on legal matters and engaging in policy advocacy to create systemic change.
“Our MLPC collaboration works because we co-locate ‘legal care’ and ‘health care’ in trusted health care settings. This means our lawyers might be able to meet with families right in their exam rooms during appointments,” said Dina Shek ‘06, legal director of the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i. “By partnering with the communities we serve, we have effectively addressed policy and systemic advocacy issues like restoring Medicaid benefits for Micronesians and advocating for language access and immigrant rights in Hawai‘i.”
The new partnership at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children allows the MLPC team to extend its reach, offering support to families with hospitalized children who may face legal challenges affecting their health and well-being. In one case, MLPC expedited a stalled reasonable accommodation request in public housing that had prevented a safe discharge for a hospitalized child. The MLPC attorney’s work made it possible for the housing changes to happen more quickly, which significantly shortened the hospital stay, resulting in significant cost savings and more stable housing for the family.
“This partnership with the UH Richardson School of Law has been a game changer for me and the entire social work department,” said Waynell Hee-Goodman, manager of medical social services at Kapi‘olani. “The legal guidance gives us more confidence in our ability to help patients address issues like food insecurity and transportation to clinical care.”
Dr. Kenneth Nakamura, chief of pediatrics at Kapi‘olani, sees the significance and impact of these collaborations. “Community partnerships in both education and patient care are timeless and have progressively improved the health and well-being of Hawai‘i’s people over many generations. This is part of Hawai‘i Pacific Health’s mission to create healthier communities — not just for some, but for all our people.”
Since its founding in 2009, the MLPC has served nearly 2,000 families. The program’s innovative approach, which integrates legal services into health care settings, has empowered families to navigate complex systems more easily. Being embedded into health care sites allows the MLPC to work with health care providers to ensure that social and economic factors do not impede medical care.
“When we think about how our health care systems are or should be designed, our partnership with Kapi‘olani provides an ideal model in many ways. We’re working together to integrate different areas of expertise to help address not just an immediate medical need, but also the health-harming social needs all at once,” said Ashley Kaono ‘20, staff attorney for the Medical-Legal Partnership for Children in Hawai‘i. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this amazing alliance, and look forward to all the good work ahead.”
The success of MLPC’s collaboration with KKV has set the stage for this new partnership at Kapi‘olani. Key funding for the new site comes from the Hawaiʻi Department of Health and a new federal grant from the Medical-Legal Partnership Plus program under the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. As the program moves forward, additional support from Kapi‘olani, KKV, the Hawai‘i Justice Foundation, the Hawai‘i State Judiciary and the University of Hawai‘i, will continue to play an essential role in championing health justice for local communities.
The MLPC remains dedicated to ensuring that families have access to the support they need. It provides direct legal assistance while advocating for meaningful policy changes that uplift the community. This collaboration between health care and legal services continues to create a tangible, positive impact on Hawai‘i’s families and communities.