LIHU‘E — Dr. Ken Pierce, former chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, left last week to render medical aid in Haiti, he said. Currently medical director of iDOC: Island Doctors On Call, Pierce said he
LIHU‘E — Dr. Ken Pierce, former chief executive officer and chief medical officer of Kaua‘i Medical Clinic, left last week to render medical aid in Haiti, he said.
Currently medical director of iDOC: Island Doctors On Call, Pierce said he expects to spend a week at a damaged hospital in Port Au Prince, where he will put to full use his expertise in emergency medicine, urgent care and administration.
He was invited to be part of the humanitarian mission by a friend who is going to provide logistical support for an anonymous private benefactor who has chartered a plane to fly medical supplies and personnel from Miami to Port Au Prince, said Pierce.
“My role is to provide medical care and make an assessment and create a strategy for future missions to Haiti,” he said.
Pierce said he has been told to bring a sleeping bag and his own personal necessities, and it is likely he will be working and sleeping in the hospital the entire time he is in Haiti.
“I feel a sense of duty to go and use my skills to serve those who are in need. I do not have a burning desire to do so,” he said.
“I like my comfortable life here. I wish that these disasters did not happen,” said Pierce.
“However, I am honored to be asked to go, and it is a privilege to be able to use my training and experience to help others.”
Pierce is board-certified in emergency medicine with over 20 years of clinical-practice experience, and is former medical director of the Wilcox Memorial Hospital Emergency Department.
“I participated in the 2004 Asian tsunami medical relief mission to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, along with a team from Hawai‘i that included Dr. Bill Evslin, former CEO of Wilcox Hospital,” he said.
“My wife and I have served in numerous international missions both separately and together. Diane (Pierce, his wife) participated in the Hurricane Katrina medical relief,” said Ken Pierce.
“We also provide free medical care for homeless individuals once a month at Church on the Beach sponsored by Kaua‘i Bible Church.
“Diane will remain here and work with a colleague who will be covering our house-call medical practice while I am gone,” said Pierce, author of “Wise@Heart,” a 2009 HighWay Books publication on health.
Originally, a book-signing session was set for Saturday at 2 p.m. at Borders Books Music Movies and Cafe in the Kukui Marketplace off Nawiliwili Road in Lihu‘e. That will be rescheduled, he said.
The book is also available at amazon.com.
More information on Pierce’s Kaua‘i business is available at www.IslandDoctorsOnCall.com.
