LIHU‘E — Dave Walker of the American Heart Association said, “Turn the machine on and listen. Save someone’s life.” Walker was representing one of the vendors in the Passport section of the Hawai‘i Medical Service Association health fair, Saturday at
LIHU‘E — Dave Walker of the American Heart Association said, “Turn the machine on and listen. Save someone’s life.”
Walker was representing one of the vendors in the Passport section of the Hawai‘i Medical Service Association health fair, Saturday at Kukui Grove Center.
“This defibrillator is good because anyone can use it,” Walker said, referring to the defibrillator available for the public in the food court area of the mall.
“There are others, but the sign says ‘For trained personnel use only.’ We’re trying to work on that so the defibrillators are available for anyone to be able to use.”
For the health fair, Walker said the defibrillator is the one set up at Kukui Grove Center with a special charging unit set up so customers could experience using the machine. Once the machine is opened and turned on, vocal instructions guide the user through the process.
“We’re here to promote the HMSA online care program,” said Shannon Kinoshita, an HMSA staff member.
“We have a bank of computers and staff here to help people get online if they’ve experienced problems.”
In addition to rectifying log-on problems, Kinoshita said they had representatives from the Kaua‘i HMSA office available to explain some of the services available and answer questions from Kaua‘i residents, and a bank of nurses from the Kuhio Medical Center were performing various free tests for customers.
“We also have a Passport area where various community agencies like the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, Tobacco-Free Kaua‘i and the Alzheimer’s Association have representatives on hand,” Kinoshita said.
“Once someone completes the Passport, they get a chance at our wheel for prizes.”
Mary Williamson of the American Cancer Society said they had two nurses from the chemotherapy department of the G.N. Wilcox Memorial Hospital doing the tours through an inflatable model of a human colon, the icon for early detection of various cancers.
“This is real hard for some of these agencies who do not have a Kaua‘i office because they had to fly people in from Honolulu to be able to be here,” said Williamson.
But that inconvenience was offset by the steady stream of people who flowed through the fair, stopping to chat and find out information being offered by the various exhibitors.
HMSA’s online care allows a client to connect with a physician or other health care provider from the HMSA network, live via the Internet, or by phone.
The system also allows access to a health assessment and resources on a variety of health and medical topics in a convenient location.
Visit hmsa.com for more information, or to register.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.
