Health

Urgent Care Comes to MCHC

Wednesday, March 11th, 2015

The Molokai Community Health Center (MCHC) has added services that they hope will lower patients’ healthcare costs and reserve the island’s only emergency room for more acute patients. On March 1, the health center began a one-year pilot program that offers urgent care-like services to the community.

Since MCHC doesn’t have an official urgent care designation, they will offer “urgent care-like” services and will consider getting an official certification if the program does well.

“Urgent care is a little bit above primary care, which is what most walk-in clinics do, and a lot below the emergency room,” said Dr. Christina Economos, MCHC’s medical director.…

Molokai Fitness: My Secret Diet?

Thursday, February 12th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

I keep hearing that everyone all over Molokai is trying the 21-Day diet. Awesome! That means you are already aware that you need to change something, and you are trying hard. Is 21 days the magical number that you need to create a new eating habit? Enough people keep saying this, so of course, everyone is starting to believe.

Let’s look a little at how changing habits really works. In the 1960s, a plastic surgeon named Maxwell Maltz did research, and noticed on himself, that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. His book Psycho Cybernetics went on to sell 30 million copies!…

Molokai Fitness: Makahiki Time!

Friday, January 30th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Ayda Ersoy

Makahiki is the ancient Hawaiian festival in honor of the god Lono. I love the Makahiki season – nowadays, it means fun games, seeing everyone, watching the kids’ happy faces. And food!

We definitely need to support everyone who cooks all the food for the festival. Mahalo!
Here are some tips for the Makahiki, or any time you go out to a party or a meal, on how you can still eat healthily and at the same time have fun.

First, make sure you eat well before you go, so you’re not so hungry. When you get there, everything looks and smells delicious; there’s food all around you and everyone else is eating.…

Improve Your Cholesterol Levels

Friday, January 9th, 2015

Community Contributed

By Jon Mikami, RPh, and Kelly Go, RPh, Molokai Drugs, Inc.

Cholesterol is a soft, waxy substance in your blood. It increases your chance of heart disease, stroke and other problems. Many things may put you at risk for high cholesterol. You can’t control some of these risks such as your age, gender, or family history. Fortunately, the list of things you can control is longer; it includes your weight, diet, exercise, blood sugar and smoking.

Maybe you’ve put on a few pounds in the last couple of years. Or your 2014 New Year’s resolutions were short-lived, making that Na Pu`uwai gym membership a bit of a waste.…