Hbuzz

ATTENTION SHOPPERS:
ATMs go First Hawaiian

Photo: Jimmy Forrest

Ala Moana Center hosts 42 million bank-card toting visitors a year. That was the apparent driving force that led several other Mainland banks - with no Hawaii branches - to ask owner Illinois-based General Growth Properties (NYSE:GGP) for an exclusive contract to operate ATMs in its Hawaii mall properties. After all, ATMs are cash cows, according to the U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington, D.C.

But Roxanne Murakami, vice president of commercial properties for General Growth Properties in Hawaii, says the company decided to offer an exclusive ATM contract only to local banks. The Mainland banks "would not serve the local people," Murakami says. So presentations were made to Hawaii banks, and First Hawaiian Bank took the plunge with a five-year contract. The amount of the contract, announced in March, was not disclosed.

First Hawaiian spent the next three months installing 18 ATMs at Ala Moana, Ward, Prince Kuhio and Queen Kaahumanu malls. First Hawaiian executive vice president Robert Harrison says the move was aimed to add convenience for its customers. "It makes money for us. We are not shy talking about that, but we are trying to broaden our reach for our customers." Harrison says.

For customers of other local banks, the ATMs in individual stores will remain. First Hawaiian's contract is only for the malls' common areas.
- Scott Radway

A Healthy Alternative

Between brochures, toll free hotlines and the Internet, there's certainly no lack of information available on the topic of health care. But that hasn't stopped Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) from taking a whole new approach to health-care awareness, with the creation of the nation's first statewide interactive television health channel, "HMSA Now."

Photo Courtesy: HMSA

The show premiered in July on Oceanic's digital cable channel 344, and the format is simple and user-friendly. Subscribers navigate the on-screen menu, which features a variety of topics, from fitness and nutrition to FAQs from HMSA members. Most notable is the Medical Library video collection, which consists of hundreds of video clips covering nearly every medical

illness under the sun. The videos aren't unlike things you've probably already seen in high school science or health classes, but then again, at that age, you probably weren't so concerned about carpel tunnel or how menopause works. If, by chance, those (or any other health topics) are of interest to you now, be sure to catch them while you can. "HMSA Now" is a two-year pilot program that may end in 2007.
- Jacy L. Youn

Nanny911
(call APSI 396-1061)

Childcare difficulties - illnesses, scheduling conflicts and the like - are a growing problem for businesses both large and small. One case of the sniffles can send the family schedule, and maybe a career, into a tizzy.

Illustration: Mike Austin

Earlier this year, Aloha Premier Services International (APSI), a provider of on-call childcare for local parents and visitors, began offering a corporate childcare program. Although they were already contracting for as many as 40 nannies a day, APSI chief executive officer and owner Jeanine Smith and vice president Robert Coulson decided to extend their company's offerings after reading about the corporate daycare benefits offered by businesses in England.

APSI charges companies an administrative fee of $118 per employee per year. The nannies are independent contractors, who are paid directly by the client at $12 an hour.

Smith and Coulson say they are in negotiations with several large local companies, but have yet to sign a corporate client. "Some of the employers just don't understand how emergency daycare benefits their workers," says Smith. "But just about every employee we talk to gets very excited about it."
- David K. Choo

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