July Makana Pono

Nursing school can be expensive, but Islands Hospice nurse practitioner Harold Palma hopes to help ease the burden for students of Filipino ancestry. In doing so, he wants to inspire the next generation of students to pursue a path in nursing.

Since he became a nurse in 2012, Harold has been a part of the Filipino Nurses Foundation and has selected the organization to receive his $5,000 Makana Pono contribution.

The Filipino Nurses Foundation provides scholarships for students of Filipino ancestry who are entering college or furthering their college education in Hawaii. The group also promotes and perpetuates Filipino culture and customs in communities across the state.

For Harold, this donation was extra meaningful. His late father, Mario Palma, who passed away two years ago, helped to start the scholarship program within the organization. “Being able to donate to this nonprofit is my tribute to him,” explained Harold.

“I chose to donate to this nonprofit organization because I have strong beliefs in their values,” said Harold. “My way of giving back to the community is through promoting the importance of furthering your education, understanding how difficult it may be financially.”

As a nurse practitioner, Harold conducts face-to-face evaluations for ongoing hospice eligibility and is part of the palliative care program, in addition to managing patients at Islands Hospice’s inpatient hospice home. During his spare time, Harold is a volunteer lecturer for Nurse Advocates and Mentors Inc. where he teaches about hospice and palliative care. 

“I just want to say thank you for this nomination, it really means a lot of me,” Harold said. “I’m blessed to work with such a great organization with excellent staff and support.”