November 2025 CEU Workshop: Social Determinants of Health & Seeing Beyond Sight

The Hawaii State Society of Medical Assistants held its Fall 2025 CEU Workshop and General Meeting on Sunday, November 2, 2025, at Kalihi Palama Library in Honolulu. The day opened with check-in, the general member meeting, and elections, followed by two two-credit sessions for a total of four CEU credits.

Social Determinants of Health (2 CEU credits)

Speaker: Annabelle Stone, MPH, Director of Health Equity, AlohaCare

Annabelle Stone opened the day with a look at how conditions outside the exam room — housing, food access, transportation, income, education — shape patient outcomes long before a patient ever reaches a provider.

She introduced AlohaCare, the nonprofit health plan founded in 1994 by Hawaii's Community Health Centers and now the second-largest plan in the state, serving members eligible for QUEST (Medicaid) or a Medicare Advantage plan. Attendees learned about member services grounded in local practice and culture, including Native Hawaiian healing practices, Ai Pono healthy eating, Ho'oponopono conflict resolution, Active and Fit gym options, and lomilomi massage, along with educational programs such as A Promise of Hope, which connects members to GED pathways.

The session closed on health literacy in today's digital environment — the skills patients need to navigate a healthcare system that increasingly assumes comfort with portals, apps, and online forms, and practical ways medical assistants can improve patient understanding and engagement at the point of care.

Seeing Beyond Sight: Supporting Blind Patients with Compassion and Care (2 CEU credits)

Speaker: Marri Murdoch, Founder & President, Travel Visions Aloha for the Blind

After lunch, Marri Murdoch combined personal stories and participant experiences to examine the barriers blind and low-vision individuals encounter in health, wellness, and community life — and the strengths they bring to those same settings.

The session ended with an interactive guiding exercise. Participants alternated roles using blindfolds and safe guiding techniques, giving each attendee direct experience on both sides of the interaction.

Attendees left with:

• Practical sighted guide technique they can use in a clinic hallway, exam room, or waiting area
• A clearer sense of how to describe surroundings, forms, and instructions to a patient who cannot see them
• Greater cultural competency and empathy that applies directly to patient care