Kapi'olani CC Recognized as Platinum Campus

Kapiʻolani Community College
Contact:
Louise F Yamamoto, (808) 734-9513
Director, College Relations, Office of College and Community Relations
Posted: Aug 10, 2015

Dr. Betsy Thompson presents Chancellor Leon Richards with Platinum Award.
Dr. Betsy Thompson presents Chancellor Leon Richards with Platinum Award.

On Monday, August 3, 2015, Kapi'olani Community College was declared a Platinum Campus by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, for being a tobacco-free campus. There are 10 regional Offices of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH), and Hawai'i belongs to Region IX. Upon presenting a special certificate of recognition, Betsy L. Thompson, MD, DrPH, who is the Deputy Regional Health Administrator for Region IX, announced that Kapi'olani CC is the first Platinum Campus in Hawai'i. There are only 16 Platinum Campuses in Region IX.

For Kapi'olani CC, it all began when students brought their concern about tobacco use and the problems associated with smoking to campus administrators. Their concern became part of a major health initiative at the College.

During fall semester 2011 and spring 2012, a collective endeavor, including a fact finding survey issued to faculty, staff, and students, research and discussions by the Tobacco Products Policy Task Force that included members of all College constituencies, public forums held by Student Congress, and a smoke-out led to the Task Force approving a recommendation for a tobacco-free campus, as part of the overall Healthy Campus initiative. Currently, the College is in the process of following the procedures in BOR Policy EP 10.102, Tobacco Products, October 2014, that includes informing the unions 60 days in advance, and the College community members 30 days in advance, of the policy implementation date.

Chancellor Leon Richards commented that, “Being recognized as a Platinum Campus reinforces Kapi'olani CC’s commitment to encouraging a healthy lifestyle for everyone. The fact that the concern for tobacco use on campus came from students is most commendable, because serving as the next generation of leaders, they pursued what was best for the campus.”

In addition to being a Platinum Campus, Kapi'olani CC is also the first campus in Hawai'i to join Healthy Campus 2020, the nationwide initiative based on Healthy People 2020 and led by the American College Health Association. The goal of Healthy Campus 2020 is to impact and improve the overall health of all students, faculty and staff on college campuses