Page 14 - MidWeek - July 20, 2022

14 MIDWEEK JULY 20, 2022
+MIDWEEK COVER STORY+
PHOTO BY
Hilton Raethel and his team
at Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i have been the epitome of unwavering commitment to the well-being of the community. It’s the reason why they are being presented with this year’s St. Francis of Assisi Spirit Award.
s m u c h o f
a natural as Hilton Raethel is at his job, it’s somewhat surprising that
needed to continue his search in America, where he planned to enroll at a uni-
pletely crystallize until a pack- age deal was struck with the medical center.
el says, “I literally found my calling in health care at a hos- pital in East Los Angeles.”
versity in California.
“The thinking was that I’d
“We leveraged the fact that they really wanted my wife and so I told them I was just looking for part-time work. They wound up offering me a part-time job and three weeks later, they offered me a full- time job,” says the man who eventually traded in his busi- ness degree for a pair of mas- ter’s degrees in public health and health administration.
Thank heavens for that for- tuitous job offer in the City of Angels, for without it, Hawai‘i would likely be without one of its leading figures in the health care profession. Maybe more importantly, the state would be missing that certain someone with the right demeanor and know-how — not to mention the right spirit — to help guide its citizenry through a dreadful pandemic.
he didn’t even consider a ca- reer in health care until he was well into his 20s.
study abroad and go back to Australia. Well, I got my four-year degree, but I never got around to going back,” he chuckles.
As he recalls, his future was unclear following high school graduation, and so he opted to work a variety of jobs while keeping his eyes peeled for his life’s calling. At length, the native of Adelaide, Austra- lia, convinced himself that he
Instead, opportunity came knocking after his wife, Kathy, was recruited for a nursing position at a nearby hospital. Suddenly, Raethel’s path forward began looking clearer, but it wouldn’t com-
In summing up his better- late-than-never story, Raeth-
SEE PAGE 15