‘Ekahi Health System Promotes and Adds Team Members
‘Ekahi Health System (EHS)–part of the ‘ike family of companies–has announced two promotions and two new additional team members.
Robert Walker has been promoted to program director and Blair Grant to clinical care manager of the ‘Ekahi Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program. In addition, Allison Guard has joined the team as nurse case manager and Sam Sterling as marketing coordinator.
“We are pleased to congratulate and welcome these four highly-qualified individuals into their new positions at ‘Ekahi Health System,” said Dean Hirata, CEO of EHS. “Their leadership skills and ability to connect with others will be key in further supporting our goal to empower individuals to make a positive change in their lives.”
Walker joined EHS in 2016 as a marketing manager, following his position as director of marketing and audience generation at Physicians’ Education Resource and marketing manager at UMT Consulting Group in New York City. He has a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the State University of New York at Geneseo and a Master of Science in pathology from the Sackler Institute of Biomedical Sciences at New York University School of Medi
cine. He received his Master of Business Administration from the New York University Stern School of Business. As program director at EHS, he will be tasked with business management of ‘Ekahi Ornish Lifestyle Medicine, including developing and executing strategies for financial growth and recruitment.
Grant joined the EHS team in 2016 as a nurse case manager. She previously served as the clinical transitions specialist case manager at Healthways Hawaii, and as an ER nurse with ALTRES. Grant is a registered nurse and has a Bachelor of Science in nursing from Griffith University. She is currently pursuing her Master of Science in nursing from Simmons College. In her
new position as clinical care manager, Grant will oversee the management and clinical delivery team to ensure high quality care for participants of the ‘Ekahi Ornish Lifestyle Medicine program.
New to EHS’s growing team of nurse case managers, Guard will oversee the clinical care for participants in her assigned cohorts. Guard earned her Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is a registered nurse and previously worked for Queen’s Medical Center.
As the new marketing coordinator at EHS, Sterling will be responsible for
engaging program participants and alumni through events, email and social media campaigns. He will also maintain content on the ‘Ekahi Ornish Lifestyle Medicine website. Sterling has a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Boston University. He previously interned in the Asia-Pacific marketing division of a multinational internet security company in Taipei, Taiwan.