Dr. Arthur Brownstein, an author and preventive medicine specialist, put wheels in motion to close his clinic of eight years in the Princeville Shopping Center in an effort to pursue writing and other creative interests, including spending more time with
Dr. Arthur Brownstein, an author and preventive medicine specialist, put wheels in motion to close his clinic of eight years in the Princeville Shopping Center in an effort to pursue writing and other creative interests, including spending more time with his family.
But a virtual uprising by clients and local community members changed his mind. Despite islandwide rumors to the contrary, the Princeville Medical Clinic will remain open.
Brownstein grew up in Santa Monica, Calif., and following in the footsteps of his father, also a doctor, graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pa. in 1980.
It was during this period that he first visited Kaua’i. He then attended Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. He also completed training in aerospace medicine and served in the Air Force as a flight surgeon for 24 years, both as an active-duty physician and a reservist.
He worked as a physician in the Philippines, India and the Far East for 10 years before settling on Kaua’i in 1986. After working with the Kaua’i Medical Group at the urgent-care clinic of Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Lihu’e, Brownstein worked with Dr. Jeff Goodman in Kilauea and Dr. Ron Burkhart in Kapa’a, before opening the Princeville clinic in 1993.
Brownstein also has served as an assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Hawai’i since 1993.
From the beginning, Brownstein said, his emphasis has been on preventive medicine and general primary care. And for the past 10 years, along with his wife, Nutan, he has flown to California to work at the UCSF Medical Center with Dr. Dean Ornish, first person in the world to prove that heart disease could be reversed without drugs or surgery while also serving as medical consultant to former President Clinton.
Brownstein has written an international best-selling book called “Healing Back Pain Naturally,” originally published in 1999 and now available in four different editions, based on his own 20-year history as a former back pain patient. His book was featured in an interview in Oprah Magazine in September 2000.
As part of his ongoing work in the treatment and prevention of back pain, he has taught yoga three mornings a week at Princeville Health Club for the past seven years.
Another book by Brownstein on the body’s natural healing system is due out this spring, and health reviewers are already excited about its contents.
It was the need to write another book and the difficulty of keeping the clinic open that prompted him to consider selling the business and closing up shop, he said.
“I wanted to work on my own health, too,” he said. “I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I must practice what I tell my patients.”
After getting the word out that he was leaving his clinic, patients started weighing in with phone calls and letters.
“I had underestimated the service I provide. I have interesting and wonderful patients. But I didn’t realize the impact that I was having,” Brownstein said.
At the clinic, Brownstein sees both local residents and visitors. He keeps it open for walk-ins every morning for general and urgent medical problems, while reserving the afternoons for appointments where he specializes in preventive medicine and back consultations.
His office, which can be contacted at 826-7228, is currently open Monday through Friday (9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), with plans to extend hours and open on the weekends.
