About 3.6 percent of the Medicaid population in Hawaii uses 61 percent of the Medicaid budget annually. That’s right, 14,000 people — including those covered under Quest and AlohaCare — utilize $1.2 billion of Hawaii’s Medicaid. Read more
Twenty million more Americans now have health insurance since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law six years ago. This brings the portion of those who are uninsured down to 11.5 percent of the population. Read more
It’s been nearly six years since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law and almost four years since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld it. Read more
Hawaii imports roughly 90 percent of the food it consumes and exports as much as 80 percent of what is grown here. Particularly, in view of climate change and the persistent El Nino, this leaves the health of island residents vulnerable to uncontrollable hiccups in container transport. Read more
Earlier this week I returned from Brazil, a nation in crisis over the Zika virus epidemic. This public health calamity creates a perfect storm when combined with the economic and sociopolitical woes now facing South America’s largest country. The lack of fiscal resources and waning confidence in the current government present dire constraints in managing the current epidemic. Read more
When Hokule‘a first sailed to Tahiti in 1976 using only noninstrument navigation, it became a major catalyst not only for the Hawaiian cultural renaissance, but also for a broader awakening among indigenous peoples throughout Polynesia. Hokule‘a continues this legacy, touching many during its around-the-world voyage. Read more
As Hokule‘a sails across the Atlantic from South Africa to Brazil, safety protocols require its crew to monitor other vessels, including large, commercial longline-fishing vessels and lumbering container ships bound for the great ports of the world. There is no mistaking the fact that for many the oceans are there only to extract a profit. Read more
After 16 days at sea, Saint Helena arose out of the mist. Our heading could not have been more perfect had we used GPS. Each member of the crew is in awe to be part of this historical leg of the around-the-world voyage where spirituality and ancient science join as one, where the mana of the Hokule‘a, guidance by the ancestors and support from the community bring unity of purpose to the dedicated souls on board. Indeed, the sense of common destiny was articulated by one crew member during an awa ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa, the night before our departure: “May my bones be your bones. May my blood be your blood.” Read more
In the midst of the longest leg of the Hokule‘a’s around-the-world voyage, across the Atlantic from Africa to South America, I cannot help but think of the millions of Africans who, in centuries past, made the crossing in shackles, within the bowels of slave ships — and of the many more millions who never made it. In Brazil, our next destination following a stop at St. Helena, more than half the population is of mixed heritage. The majority have ancestors who were brought here as slaves by the Portuguese, initially to work on sugar plantations and later to work in gold and diamond mines. Read more
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As the Hokule‘a sails to the island of Saint Helena, the first planned port stop from South Africa en route to Brazil, during the longest leg of the Malama Honua around-the-world voyage, I am reminded of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was exiled there. Read more
Hokulea Hugs Drought-Stricken Namibian Coast. After a successful dry-dock in Cape Town, South Africa, the Hokulea is now heading north, up the west coast of Namibia to Walvis Bay. Read more
The crew for leg 16 of the Hokule‘a’s around-the-world voyage arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, last week. I am joining the crew for this leg as their medical officer. Read more
Occupational therapy has long run under the radar in the eyes of both health providers and patients. Occupational therapy is underutilized, simply because our scope of practice is not completely understood. Read more
It has been 41 years since I first took up the study of martial arts. This month, testing for the next black belt fell on my birthday. Instead of feeling the anticipation of competing in a triathlon, I had the inner sense that the test was done before it started. Read more
