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Health
Imua ‘Iolani
Wellness welcomes you to a better lifestyle By Lauren Yamaguchi ‘15 `Iolani’s brand new Wellness Center brings the former Upper school and Lower School infirmaries together in a central location of the student center. The wellness team includes veteran `Iolani nurse Mrs. Shannon Yonamine as well as new nurse, Mrs. Carin Makishima, and new school psychologist, Dr. Gabrielle Toloza. The idea behind the center is to promote the health of both the mind and the body. As member of the class of ‘94, Dr. Toloza understands the stress and adversity an `Iolani student can experience. “Just like you go to a doctor for feeling sick, your emotional and spiritual health is equally as important as your physical health. Having someone to talk to is an important resource,” she said. Before coming to `Iolani, Dr. Toloza was a private practice psychologist for children and families. With her presence at school, Dr. Toloza hopes to normalize the role of the psychologist. “I think that there’s still a lot of stigma around the word psychologist and what that means. That needs to change. We all have issues and stress and going to talk to someone about it is not wrong. I hope to help students cope
with anything that bothers them.” Dr. Toloza welcomes all students, saying, “Students can stop by just to say hello and if they need to chat, we can shut the door and have a conversation”. In previous years, as the school’s only nurse, Mrs. Yonamine had to go back and forth between upper school and lower school. “A number of times I was on one side of campus when someone on the other side needed help,” she said. The Wellness Center now can provide consistent care to grades K-12 because it is located between upper and lower school and because a second nurse has joined the team. Mrs. Carin Makishima was a nurse at Kaiser High School before coming to `Iolani this year. These improvements to `Iolani care services accommodate the rising health demands of the student body. Mrs. Yonamine said, “Times are changing. There are more kids with allergies, diabetes, and health needs than a number of years ago.” In the future, the wellness team will be looking to purchasing a golf car equipped with a bed and a siren to better transport students in case of an emergency.
Jacob Lee ‘20 and Max Lavatai ‘20 visit the brand new wellness center || Lauren Yamaguchi ‘15
‘Iolani Dean of Students on the road to recovery By Max Wei ‘15
After a life-threating health crisis, our Dean of Students is on the mend In August, less than two weeks before school started, Mr. Tate Brown drove himself to the emergency room with severe stomach pains. He had been at a school administrators’ meeting on the North Shore, and, though in intense pain, was able to drive himself all the way to Kaiser Moanalua. “After a CT scan, a surgeon walked in and said that either I go into surgery right then or I wouldn’t make it. My colon, which might normally be an inch or so in diameter, was the size of a football.” Mr. Brown was told his colon had ruptured and was leaking waste into his body. The situation is potentially deadly because
Mrs. Harbottle welcomes Mr. Brown to a faculty gathering on campus. || Imua Staff
Imua `Iolani is published by the students of `Iolani School, located at 536 Kamoku Street, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96826. Est 1923, printed at Hawaii Hochi Ltd. Print Editor-in-Chief: Lindsey Combs Online Editor-in-Chief: Riley Sakamoto Video/Broadcast Editor-in-Chief: David Pang
Senior Editor: Lauren Yamaguchi Chief of Correspondents Max Wei Staff Writers: Jonathan Abe Jasmine Banner Conor Hannum Eve Huddleston Sara Hui Leia Lau Taylor Lau Julia Lim
Samantha Masca Ryan Miller Amy Nakamura Arupa Poudyal Annie Russell Kylie Sakoda Cartoonist Kyla Smith Advisors: Ms. Lee Cataluna Mr. Taylor Wong Mr. Cyrus Won
infection can set in so quickly. Now resting at home and making shorts visits to campus, Mr. Brown is steadily getting stronger. “I’ve been ordered to rest to recover from surgery and also allow my colon to heal so I can go into the next phase. I also need to periodically get up and walk so that I can rebuild strength and stamina. The ‘Iolani family has been wonderful in looking after me with visits and meals. A second surgery will possibly be scheduled for December. Mr. Erik Yamamoto is serving as interim Dean of Students in Mr. Brown’s absence. Mr. Brown says he’s looking forward to getting back to work. “I’m hanging in there and am ready to appear on Family Feud as I know all the answers.”