Health Centers

Established in 2008, AHARO is an interdisciplinary council to promote and utilize value-based systems in healthcare. It operates via an interagency agreement between the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center (WCCHC) and Waimanalo Health Center on the island of Oahu and expanded to include other FQHCs in Hawaii including the Molokai (Island) Community Health Center, and the Hamakua-Kohala Health Center and Bay Clinic Inc. on Hawaii Island. Last year, the AHARO CHCs served 71,698 patients, most of whom live below the federal poverty level (FPL) and include a large population of NHPIs and Asians, primarily Filipinos. AHARO’s mission is to promote access, quality, and cost-effectiveness in healthcare by empowering consumers. Its direct goals are to 1) develop value-based healthcare systems that apply health information technology to maximize performance metrics and conduct research that improves quality and promotes cost containment; 2) help assure that medically underserved populations and communities, including those with population characteristics of high poverty and cultural uniqueness, are not underrepresented in the development of performance metrics emerging in value-based healthcare reform; and 3) help address the unique healthcare needs of rural communities across the Islands while developing systems that may be transferable to other Medically Underserved Areas or Populations.