Ann M. Sakaguchi

Background

I have worked at the UHM for 30 years, primarily on curriculum and program development. I enjoy creating innovative programs that address a need that would otherwise be unmet. The project that I continue to serve as the Director of, Pacific Emergency Management, Preparedness and Response Information Network and Training Services (Pacific EMPRINTS), was first created as a consortium of public and private health educators and health services providers in 2005, after receiving $4.1 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in a competitive grant application. It offers training to health professionals and first responders to systemically respond to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive agents and to other public health threats.

Education

• PhD, Political Science, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 2000
• MPH, Health Administration and Planning, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 1986
• Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in International Management, Japan-America Institute of Management Science, 1978
• BA, Japanese, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, 1977

Research

My academic/professional interests include public health preparedness and response; evidence-based disaster medicine; point-of-care testing strategies at disaster sites; health politics, policy & law; crisis standards of care; health and health care disparities; cultural competencies in medical settings; and the impact of globalization on emerging and re-emerging diseases.

Community Engagement

ESRI selected from among its user base of more than 300,000 organizations around the world a number of U.S. and international awardees who is judged to "have made extraordinary contributions to our global society and set new precedents throughout the GIS community." Pacific EMPRINTS received this prestigious award in 2008 for its work to introduce & expand the use of geographic information technologies among professionals working at the confluence of the health care, public health, disaster planning, and emergency response fields. In 2012, the CDC also recognized Pacific EMPRINTS for engaging community stakeholders in the development of the "Natural Disaster Safety and Readiness Guide for Seniors in Hawaii" and named the State of Hawaii as a leader in this area.