Newsmaker
Monday, October 12, 1998
Name: Fay Nakamoto
Age: 59
Education: Bachelor's of science in nursing, master's in public health, University of Hawaii
Hobbies: walking, tennis, reading
She did the virtually impossible: cutting her department's budget by 30 percent yet expanding the number of people her department helps from 26,000 to 35,000. Doing more with less
All it took was some smart shopping skills and plenty of teamwork.
Fay Nakamoto won the state's Manager of the Year award for managing to give much more with a lot less.
She manages the state's Women, Infants and Children program, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. WIC supplements the nutrition of women and children in Hawaii with health risks through monthly allotments of a planned diet.
WIC provides a tailored diet to individuals, who buy the foods with coupons. This is unlike the food stamp program, which allows recipients to buy any kind of food.
"We are the carrot. They come in for the food, and we monitor them for health and nutrition risks," Nakamoto said. "We assess them for immunizations; we offer breast feeding services. We hook them up to the system," Nakamoto said.
"With proper nutrition, the young will grow up to be more productive and healthier individuals."
The USDA told Nakamoto to cut her department's caseload by 30 percent almost two years ago. She and her department balked.
"We cannot cut our caseload, so I pulled a team together and asked: 'What can we do to cut back? What can we do?'" Nakamoto said.
The team decided to implement the department's first major cost-containment strategy in 20 years. Then they went shopping.
They reduced the price of their monthly food package for a woman with two children from $52 to $46.
"We chose bulk cheeses instead of individually wrapped. We switched from name-brand foods to generic and store brand."
Then the department was streamlined. A patient flow analysis was used to improve clinic efficiency, and the department is on its way to automating the paper-intense program. A pre-printed coupon system is now used, which speeds the process for women to receive their benefits.
"What motivates me is that we're doing this for the community. It is to their health benefit," she said. "It makes me feel good."
Lori Tighe, Star-Bulletin
