WAIMEA — “West side! Best side!” chanted emcee Dylan Ancheta on Saturday on the campus of the Kauai Veterans Memorial Center.
Labelled the “Kauai Healthy Living Fall Festival,” the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, Kauai Region hosted an open house taking advantage of the seasonal Halloween festivities.
Centered around the Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital, the HHSC, Kauai Region offered a morning of live music, the guest appearance of emcee Ancheta, giveaway prizes, food, activities and a host of health resources from both the KVMH and the network of community partners that contribute to celebrating wellness and good health.
A passport to healthy living guided the journey through the tent city where the sounds of Cruz Control blanketed the stream of people making their way to the free pumpkins being distributed through the efforts of the Harvest Festival
There were no tricks as Lance Segawa, the president and CEO of HHSC, Kauai Region said the goal of everything being done at both the KVMH and Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital is to reduce the number of patients having to leave the island for treatments.
Treats for patrons of the Fall Festival came in the form of information nuggets gleaned from the many vendors that included many Waimea High School students participating in the school’s health pathway.
Players and coaches of Menehune football had an early departure in order to catch the bus to Kapaa where the football team was competing against Kapaa High School at the Warriors’ homecoming and senior night at the Bryan J. Baptiste Sports Complex.
This left a program advisor to fill in for the senior student who was distributing free eggplant starters using University of Hawaii Seed as a capstone project for Waimea High School.
Segawa said the HHSC, Kauai Region does just two of these types of events. For people who want access to a similar awareness program, they will have to wait until spring when the tents rise on the campus of Mahelona Hospital.
