WE, a hui for health, created in 2011 and based on Hawai‘i values and local relationships, will be on Kaua‘i for two weekends in June to provide Kaua‘i people access to screenings and information to help them understand their role
WE, a hui for health, created in 2011 and based on Hawai‘i values and local relationships, will be on Kaua‘i for two weekends in June to provide Kaua‘i people access to screenings and information to help them understand their role in their own health.
“You don’t get health from the doctor,” said John “Hau‘oli” Tomoso of Maui’s Hui No Ke Ola Pono, in a WE release. “You give health to yourself.”
WE members, a consortium of not-for-profit health advocacy groups, government agencies, Native Hawaiian health organizations, ‘Ohana Health Plan and Lions Clubs throughout Hawai‘i, work together to take the health screening caravan on the road.
WE’s purpose is to give each individual actionable information about their personal health situation with the goal of motivating each person to take responsibility for his or her own health.
WE believes that good health is most accessible when it is based on relationship, respect and participation.
On Kaua‘i, the WE schedule of screening include June 22 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Kilauea Neighborhood Center, moving to Foodland in Princeville on June 23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
On June 24, the WE screening caravan moves to the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Waimea Plantation Cottages will be the site for the WE screening caravan on June 25 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Kaua‘i WE screening caravan wraps up June 29 and 30 at Kukui Grove Center, the caravan being available from 4 to 8 p.m., June 29 and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 30.
WE events on Kaua‘i are made possible through the financial and material support of each organization and from Young Brothers, the Lions Clubs and ‘Ohana Health Plan.
The screenings available from WE include retinal screening on the Vision Van, spirometry lung function test, glucose, hemoglobin A1C and cholestrol testing, take-home kidney function test, women’s health and breat examination training and information, hepatitis risk assessment and screening, counseling and safe tattoo practices information, hearing testing and learning disabilities information, smoking cessation counseling, family caregiver counseling, organ donorship counseling, mental health information, peer education and resource publications, family-focused education wheel, issues with diagnosis and treatment of cancer, education and issues surrounding medicare.
WE will offer 40 individual days of screenings, including 10 or more specifically planned for Native Hawaiian homeland sites. WE will cover all six major Hawaiian islands, with the hope of increasing coverage to 8,000 individuals in lower-income, rural and generally under-resourced areas to help residents learn to take control of their own health.
WE is an acronm of “wellness event” and now means “all of us who choose to stand together.” WE provides the screenings, information, explanations and support in much time and depth as requested, in a number of languages, in local style.
WE believes that good health is most accessible when it is based on relationship, respect and participation.
