Page 2 - MidWeek Kauai - Jan 5, 2022

2 KAUA‘I MIDWEEK JANUARY 5, 2022
Dr. Monica Price, chief of urgent care for Hawai‘i Pacific Health Medical Group, was born in Honolulu, but raised in various locations around the world. Her dad’s career as a U.S. foreign service officer took the family to Washing- ton, D.C., as well as Lesotho, Japan, Somalia, Bulgaria and many other places in between.
DR. MONICA PRICE, chief of urgent care for Hawai‘i Pacific Health Medical Group Interviewed by Don Robbins
Learning All About Urgent Care
“I’ve grown to be very thankful for all that traveling and the experiences it afforded me,” Price explains.
Here’s what else Price has to say about her career and back- ground in medicine:
What is the role of urgent care in the overall picture of health care?
What do you love most about your career?
I’m interested in continuing to explore the concept of pa- tient-centered, team-based care as a health care delivery model since it emphasizes the critical role patients themselves play in their health and well-being.
Meanwhile, her mother, who was a registered nurse for 50 years, inspired Price to go into medicine.
What specifically do you do as chief of urgent care?
I like to think of urgent care as part of a patient’s health care team. We’re here to help when a patient has an urgent need that isn’t serious enough to warrant
I love that my career allows me to care for patients at times when they’re at their most vul- nerable. I’ve found that it’s not always the science of medicine
“Before retiring, she worked in all kinds of health care set- tings, including operating rooms, pediatric clinics, reha- bilitation services, the Peace Corps and an embassy. Inter- estingly, my mom also helped to open one of the first urgent care clinics in Burke, Virginia, in the 1980s,” Price adds.
As division chief of urgent care for Hawai‘i Pacific Health, I oversee the physicians who work at the Straub O‘ahu ur- gent care clinics (Kāhala, Ward Village, Ka Makana Ali‘i), Straub Docs on Call Clinics (Sheraton Waikīkī, Hilton Ha- waiian Village) and the Kaua‘i Medical Clinic urgent care. I work with our physician lead- ership team to develop stan- dardized workflow protocols
For patients with minor ill- nesses or injuries that may not require an in-person visit, our Virtual Urgent Care Clinic is a very convenient way to get the care needed without having to leave the comfort of your own
Here’s how we
Among her accomplish- ments in 2020, Price received
fight omicron.
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the Health Care Hero and George F. Straub awards — the latter given annually to the physician who has demonstrat- ed the highest level of achieve- ment and excellence.
in the clinics and participate in HPH systemwide initiatives that promote our mission of creating a healthier Hawai‘i.
When patients have a medi- cal concern, but don’t feel like it’s a life-threatening issue that needs emergency room care, urgent care clinics are there to help. We treat minor fractures, sprains, back pain, simple cuts, upper respiratory infections, urinary tract infections, skin infections, minor stomach ill- nesses, etc. Of course, we al- ways advise patients to contact their primary care physician first, whenever possible.
How does telemedicine work as part of urgent care?
home. Through video visits on your smartphone, tablet or computer, our board-certified physicians can deliver person- alized health care, and if neces- sary, they will instruct you on where to go for an in-person exam. To set up an appoint- ment, call 808-824-5237 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., every day of the year.
an emergency room visit, and their primary care physician isn’t readily available. Some benefits of urgent care include shorter wait times, much less testing, and more economical and quicker delivery of pre- scriptions. Plus, when a patient is cared for at our clinics, we keep their primary care phy- sician in the loop so the right follow-up care happens.
that heals, but the art of the re- lationship between patient and physician, even if it’s a fleeting one in the urgent care setting. I also have to mention that work- ing with such wonderful, sup- portive Hawai‘i Pacific Health team members from my fellow physicians, to my clinical staff, to my administrative partners, really helps me smile even in the most challenging of cir- cumstances.
“I was very humbled and ap- preciative after receiving both awards, but it’s the support, hard work and dedication of the entire team of professionals I work with that really deserves recognition,” she says.
How can people determine when to go to an urgent care facility?
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