Native health center launched
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Leeward O'ahu Writer
Today marks the official beginning of one of the more unusual health facilities anywhere: the Native Hawaiian Healing Center and Dining Pavilion.
When it opens in December, it will be the largest facility of its kind in the world, integrating Western and Eastern health procedures along with alternative medical practices and Native Hawaiian healing.
Years in the making, the center is considered vital to improving the health of residents on the Wai'anae Coast.
Richard Bettini, chief executive officer for the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, said his organization's mission is to break down the barriers that prevent people from seeking medical and health care.
"With the majority of our patients being Native Hawaiian, one of the barriers has been the cultural barrier," Bettini said.
The facility also will serve as a proving ground for Native Hawaiian healing.
"Hawaiians had a lot of this figured out a long time ago," said Wai'anae resident William Aila. "So as a Native Hawaiian, I think this is an idea that's long overdue. In addition to Western medicine, it will incorporate the spiritual side of healing — something Western medicine often overlooks."
Groundbreaking for the two-story structure is scheduled for 11:30 this morning at the center, which will operate the new facility.
The top floor of the pavilion will have a cafeteria-style dining area featuring a menu of healthy dishes.
The $1 million building and surrounding grounds will be directed by Sheila Beckham, a registered dietitian, and Dr. Terry Shintani, who developed the award-winning Wai'anae and Hawai'i Diet programs.
The project has been under development for years, without a place to call its own.
"We were essentially a homeless program," said Shintani. "We were borrowing dining facilities. And yet we won the highest national award from the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services."
The facility was designed under the guidance of a kupuna council of elders and healers, Bettini said. Traditional healing services will include lomilomi (Hawaiian massage), la'au lapa'au (herbal medicine) and ho'oponopono (Hawaiian mediation).
The lower part of the building will house traditional healers and alternative practitioners such as chiropractic, acupuncture and chronic pain management. Anyone is welcome to receive treatment at the facility. Some of the procedures are covered by insurance. Others, such as Native Hawaiian healing, are not.
"We've got a two-year grant to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Hawaiian healing services in producing health outcomes," Bettini said.
"We hope to prove over time that there's a reason to support traditional healers. There's not currently a mechanism through health insurance to do that."
In the meantime, Bettini and Shintani say no one will be turned away, and payment for procedures not covered by insurance will be pro-rated according to the patient's ability to pay.
