Nurse Pract Forum. 1997 Mar; 8(1): 14-20.

Ko'olauloa: Hawai'i's North Shore nurse practitioner based clinics (Kahaluu'u, Hau'ula, Haleiwa, Punalu'u).

Allison DM.

Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, HI, USA.

Nurse practitioner-based/Traditional Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi clinics were funded with grant money and matching funds to provide medical services to uninsured Native Hawaiians. The clinics proved to be successful through the outreach efforts of local outreach workers, satisfaction with Lomi-Lomi (Hawaiian massage with a spiritual component), and the primary and preventive services of nurse practitioners. Western medicine and Lomi-Lomi are practiced in the same clinic setting cooperatively. Nurse practitioners refer to other community-based programs for nutrition education and weight control and to physicians as needed. Nurse practitioners must be aware of administration and fiscal issues to maintain such nontraditional clinics and services.