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A new dedicated home for medical students and residents on Maui making learning on the Valley Isle accessible for all JABSOM students.
Located in Kahului, just minutes from Maui Memorial Medical Center, the house was established through a collaboration between Maui County, Maui Health, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). The home provides stable, rent-free housing for medical students completing clinical rotations on Maui, something that was previously only possible for those with friends or family on the island.
“Before, it was a patchwork system,” explained Dr. Felicitas Livaudais, a Maui-based physician and JABSOM Maui site coordinator. “Someone might offer a spare bedroom, or we’d rely on community members like Auntie Tina, who let students stay in her home and even cooked for them.”
The four bedroom, three bath home near the Maui Lani Fairways relieves the stress of finding housing. The brand new home can house up to seven students or residents. Currently, the home is occupied by three third year medical students at JABSOM. For Tynell Ornellas, the impact is both personal and professional.
“It means a lot. It’s really convenient to be so close to the hospital and also close to a group of physicians and the community here,” said Ornellas, who is from Upcountry Maui. “It just really takes a big load off.”
Historically, most JABSOM students completed rotations on O‘ahu and those interested in training on neighbor islands often struggled to find affordable housing and the lack of consistent accommodations limited the number of students who could train on Maui.
“If we didn’t have this house, I don’t think I would’ve been able to come to Maui,” said Angela Phillips, another JABSOM student living in the home. “It allows us to fully immerse ourselves in the community without the financial burden.”
The house was made possible by the Housing for Healthcare initiative by Maui Health Foundation, in collaboration with Hawaiʻi Community Foundation and Kaiser Permanente. Housing for Healthcare was established to address the urgent need for affordable housing, creating solutions that assist in the recruiting and retention of essential healthcare providers. These homes will provide affordable transitional living options while physicians, nurses, PA’s, and techs search for a home to purchase. Through a land donation from the County of Maui to Maui Health Foundation, Housing for Healthcare will build 16 homes in the Maui Lani Fairways. HFH will own these homes in perpetuity for healthcare professionals who live on Maui or are relocating to serve our community. HFH generously reserved one of the homes for JABSOM students and medical residents.
JABSOM’s Friends of the Medical School covers rent and upkeep. Over the course of a year, at least six core students and a half-dozen more rotating fourth-year students are expected to pass through.
“Without housing, we literally could not have students rotating and learning from Neighbor Island physicians,” said Dr. Travis Hong, JABSOM’s Director of Rural Health Education. “This house is a blessing for our program.”
For many students, training on the neighbor islands provides their first exposure to rural healthcare and the unique challenges local communities face.
“It’s not just supporting medical students, it’s supporting the people of Maui,” Phillips said. “We get to know the community firsthand, understand their social and health challenges, and learn how to serve in the way they need.”
Leaders hope that by planting the seeds early, more students will choose to return as physicians.
”As of right now, we have some rotations for our students, but we'd love to expand that, maybe even ultimately have a track where we have students coming all four years and the same students to really get longitudinal experience in Maui,” Hong said.
