Ruben Juarez is among the most dedicated UH Mānoa professors focusing on the survivors of the deadly August 2023 Maui wildfires. The Economics professor is co-leader of the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study (MauiWES), which in September 2024 received an additional $2.3 million in funding from the State of Hawaiʻi. Along with Alika Maunakea, a John A. Burns School of Medicine professor, Juarez said building a registry is crucial to fully understand the long-term health impacts of the wildfires.
“Experience from other disasters shows that health effects can persist and even emerge years after the event,” said Juarez, the UH Economic Research Organization (UHERO) and HMSA Distinguished Professor of Health Economics at the College of Social Sciences, who leads the project. “Given the challenges of tracking individuals as they relocate within or across islands, this registry will allow us to monitor these health effects and ensure that survivors receive the care and support they need, backed by comprehensive data.”
For the full UH News story, see https://go.hawaii.edu/FRa.
