Q & A With DKICP Alumnus Garret Hino

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health pharmacist will share highlights of his trailblazing career path in a keynote speech at the DKICP Student Research Symposium on April 27th. Hired as the first pharmacist within the state agency, he currently is also one of only a few board-certified infectious disease pharmacists in the state.

When did you graduation from DKICP? 2018

Where did you do your post-graduate work? I was selected for PGY-1 residency at DKICP, then went on to complete a two-year infectious disease fellowship at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California.

How did you help to create your current role? I was hired there in February 2022 as a pharmacist consultant and worked with the Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Team under the DOH Disease Outbreak Control Division. During that time, I was able to establish the role of a pharmacist within the public health sector, offering subject matter expertise in Antimicrobial Stewardship (ASP) and Antimicrobial Resistance (AR). The Public Health Pharmacist position was created and established within the HAI Team and I’ve been serving in that role since December 2022.

How would you describe your work at the Hawaiʻi Department of Health? I work in partnership with DKICP to offer didactic teaching for topics related to antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial resistance, and mitigation strategies to prevent public health threats, such as antimicrobial-resistant organisms from spreading within our healthcare settings. As the interim HAI/AR Program Manager, I manage a team of 13 members comprised of epidemiologists, epidemiological specialists, infection preventionists, a secretary and a physician consultant to support our healthcare facilities, including acute care, long-term care and outpatient settings.

What are your primary goals? We work to optimize antimicrobial stewardship programs; surveillance and response of antimicrobial resistance, multi-drug resistant organisms, and healthcare-associated infections; and provide education and guidance on infection prevention and control of these public health threats. We collaborate with our healthcare facilities to optimize and ensure the safety of the patients, residents and staff in these settings.

Describe the theme of your presentation at the symposium. I will be sharing my journey, from pharmacy student to present. My goal is to instill confidence in the next generation of pharmacists to pursue research early in their professional careers.