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Health

PTSD and COVID-19: A Silent Sickness

Wednesday, May 31st, 2023

Community Contributed

Opinion by Aaron Mitchell, MS, MHC

While the world may be saying, “We’re back to life as normal,” many of us are saying to ourselves, “Um, this doesn’t feel right.”  We remember when things were “normal” and then COVID-19 hit.  We remember what happened and we remember what we went through.  We have a new level of caution.  An uncle here on Molokai has expressed his concern about the traumatic impacts of COVID on this community.  

Whenever we go through something big and it creates a lot of change in our life, there is the potential for trauma.  In the case of COVID-19, that change was world-wide. …

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New Medical Clinic

Wednesday, May 24th, 2023

By Jack Kiyonaga | Reporter 

With the May 15 opening of the Molokai Family and Urgent Care Clinic, Molokai residents have a much-needed, new option for medical care. Led by Dr. Kaohimanu Dang Akiona, the clinic is located in the same location as the late Dr. Noa Emmett Aluli’s Molokai Family Health Center, and is supported by Aluli’s clinical staff. 

“The focus for us has always been access to care. Not just primary care, but good care,” said Dang Akiona. 

Dang Akiona, owner of the Kohala Coast Urgent Clinic, explained that heath care shouldn’t be reliant on zip code. 

“[Molokai residents] don’t actually have what we would consider reasonable standards of care anymore,” said Akiona.…

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Anti-Vaping Campaign Youth Contest

Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

MEO News Release

The deadline for ‘Imi Pono: The Greatest Challenge, which this year calls on high school and intermediate youth to develop an anti-vaping media campaign, has been extended to April 20.

The prize money for the top three places in the high school and intermediate divisions also have increased. The first place prize in each division has grown to $1,000; second place to $750; and third place to $500.

The contest is open to youth in public, private and home school on Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

Campaigns must include three components: a slogan, a poster/brochure and a short public service announcement video.…

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Resident Raises Awareness for Early Cancer Screenings

Wednesday, March 29th, 2023

UH Cancer Center News Release 

Molokai resident Nancy Swartz noticed redness and a lump on her right breast. Having breast cancer in her family and a husband with prostate cancer, Swartz took these symptoms seriously. If your husband is also dealing with prostate cancer, I recommend you to find out here a great supplement that can offer many health benefits.

To continue, she consulted her primary care physician who found her symptoms to be consistent with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC). IBC is a rare form of breast cancer that gets its name from symptoms appearing swollen and red, or inflamed. IBC can present different symptoms than other types of breast cancer, such as rapid change in breast size or shape, redness or rash on the breast or nipple, pain or tenderness in the breast, nipple retraction or discharge, and enlarged lymph nodes under the arm or collarbone.…

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Taxes for Health Insurance Marketplace Consumers

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023

Legal Aid Society News Release

Molokai consumers enrolled in 2022 Marketplace health insurance must file their federal taxes by April 18. Most consumers received advanced premium tax credits based on their estimated income in 2022 to lower their insurance costs. Consumers must reconcile their estimated income with their actual income in 2022 by filing federal taxes. Any difference between the advanced premium tax credits and actual tax credits may impact their refunds or taxes owed.

The Legal Aid Society of Hawaii wants to remind Molokai consumers four things:

Get your 1095A: Get your 1095A from the mail or log into your Marketplace account and print.…
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Building Mental Health

Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

By Sage Yamashita, Intern Reporter

Many people may not realize they must care for their mental health. Aaron Mitchell, a mental health counselor, wants to ensure Molokai’s community has his services to care for theirs. 

“Many don’t get help until their circumstances become dire,” said Mitchell. “Since the beginning of time, youth have been going to their elders with their problems. They didn’t wait. Why do we wait today?”

Mitchell is the owner of Molokai Mental Health, where psychological tools that span across cultures are taught.  

“There’s space for your religion, spirituality and cultural values, whatever they might be,” said Mitchell.…

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Imua Family Services Opens at New Molokai Location

Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

Imua Family Services News Release 

Imua Family Services invites you to join them in celebrating their newly relocated office location in Kaunakakai! In celebration of this new move, Imua Family Services has planned two free programs on Saturday, Jan. 28. The first is a special activity called Play Imua for preschool-age children and their families at the Molokai Public Library starting at 11:30 a.m. The parent-child program will include an interactive arts activity and story time.

That same day, Imua Family Services will also be offering free developmental screenings and evaluations for keiki between 2 months old and 5 ½ years of age at their new office location at 130 Kamehameha V Hwy in Kaunakakai.…

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$1M for Molokai Health Center

Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

Sen. Hirono News Release 

Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) announced that Community Health Centers (CHCs) on Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii Island will receive over $8.15 million in federal funding from the Department of Health and Human Services to support the delivery of health care services to underserved communities across the state. The five grantees include Hana Community Health Center; Kalihi-Palama Health Center; Waimanalo Health Center; Molokai Ohana Health Care, Inc. (Molokai Community Health Center); and Hamakua Health Center.

“Community health centers help ensure that everyone, especially rural and underserved communities, can access the health care services they need,” said Sen.…

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Molokai Family Health Center Closure

Wednesday, January 18th, 2023

We are writing to you as a respected, cherished and important patient of Kauka Noa Emmett Aluli,

M.D. to let you know that Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2023 will be the last day that medical services will be provided at the Molokai Family Health Center. The clinic will remain open until Tuesday, Feb. 28, to assist you and other patients in finding a new provider here on Molokai.

We are so very blessed and fortunate that 46 years ago, Kauka Aluli, inspired by our kupuna, chose Molokai for his family healthcare practice. With his passing away on Nov. 30, 2022, the Molokai Family Health Center no longer has a family practice physician to provide medical care for our patients.…

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$1.6M for Health Center Dental Expansion

Wednesday, January 11th, 2023

$1.6M for Health Center Dental Expansion

By Catherine Cluett Pactol | Editor

Molokai Community Health Center’s dental services will be expanding after receiving $1,664,000 in Community Project Funding as part of a recently passed $1.7 trillion federal spending bill.

The funds will be used to renovate MCHC’s dental clinic to add three new dental operatories, office partitions Melbourne for flexible dental/hygiene/office spaces, an enlarged patient waiting area, state of the art dental equipment and a multi-tiered air sanitization system, according to MCHC. The new clinic space will double patient access to dental services and accommodate three full-time dental/hygiene providers to address the overwhelming increase in demand for oral hygiene and dentistry services island wide, the center stated.…

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