[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 14 (Monday, January 30, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S153-S154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    TRIBUTE TO JAMIE KAMAILANI BOYD

 Mr. AKAKA. Madam President, I wish to congratulate an 
innovative educator and health care professional from my State, Jamie 
Kamailani Boyd, from Kaneohe, HI, on receiving the Robert Wood Johnson 
Foundation 2011 Community Health Leaders Award. The award was presented 
at a ceremony last November in Baltimore.
  This award was given to ten individuals throughout the Nation who 
have overcome challenges to improve health and quality of life in 
disadvantaged or

[[Page S154]]

underserved communities. The award provides $20,000 to each recipient 
for personal development and another $105,000 to the project with which 
the awardee is affiliated. I am confident that this funding will be put 
to good use in Dr. Boyd's hands.
  Dr. Boyd is a nursing assistant professor and a health programs 
coordinator for the University of Hawaii's Windward Community College, 
WCC. She is the first Native Hawaiian faculty member at the University 
of Hawaii to have earned a Ph.D. while also being a registered nurse. 
Carrying on a family tradition of nursing learned from her grandmother, 
she set out to better the health care system in Hawaii by improving 
nurse training and patient care.
  To help achieve those goals, Dr. Boyd created the Pathway out of 
Poverty program at WCC. The program is founded on Native Hawaiian 
cultural values and seeks to encourage and train Native Hawaiian and 
disadvantaged students pursuing careers in nursing. She aims to reduce 
poverty, increase the number of Native Hawaiian nurses, and improve the 
quality of nursing care by producing more empathetic and culturally 
competent providers. Today, Dr. Boyd trains about 50 nurse's aides a 
year with approximately one-quarter of them going on to pursue an RN 
degree.
  As an educator and former principal, I know firsthand about the 
countless hours that go into creating curricula and reaching out to 
students. It makes me proud to see outstanding educators receive well-
deserved national recognition for their hard work. Dr. Boyd's 
dedication to her field and to the people of Hawaii is undeniable. I 
applaud her for earning this outstanding recognition, and I wish her 
much continued success in her future endeavors.

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