Healing Touch founder Janet Mentgen died peacefully last month after a two-year illness, reported Kauaians who learned the art from one of her hand-picked associates when Mentgen first visited Hawai’i in 1991. In addition to her three children, she leaves
Healing Touch founder Janet Mentgen died peacefully last month after a two-year illness, reported Kauaians who learned the art from one of her hand-picked associates when Mentgen first visited Hawai’i in 1991.
In addition to her three children, she leaves behind an important legacy of the international Healing Touch program, which is now taught in more than 20 countries, said Kaua’i practitioners including Anne Day and Savitri Kumaran.
Mentgen, a nurse educator in Colorado, began the Healing Touch program with the support of the American Holistic Nurses Association in 1989.
Sharon Contrades, a registered nurse and now manager of clinical education at Wilcox Memorial Hospital, invited Mentgen to bring the first classes to Hawai’i in 1991, sponsored by The Queen’s Medical Center.
Mentgen encouraged Day, a nurse educator and part-time Kaua’i resident, to bring the classes to Kaua’i, which she did, just after Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992.
Since then, the program has been taught on all of the islands, attended by healthcare professionals as well as many lay people interested in promoting wellness.
Mentgen’s vision of “Spreading the Light Worldwide” has truly manifested in Hawai’i, said Day and Kumaran.
Healing Touch practitioners volunteer their time at The Queen’s Medical Center, Kaiser Moanalua, Kapi’olani Women’s and Children’s Medical Center, Pali Momi Hospital, Straub Hospital, North Hawaii Community Hospital, and Kona Hospital.
More than 150 practitioners have also been trained to offer Healing Touch to women with breast cancer in the Bosom Buddies program.
Residents of Kaua’i can receive Healing Touch at Wilcox Memorial Hospital and through Kauai Hospice.
There are 64 certified Healing Touch practitioners in Hawai’i, offering treatments in private practice and other venues in the community.
For more information on Mentgen and Healing Touch, please visit these Web sites: www.healingtouch.net and www.healingtouchhawaii.net, or call toll-free 1-877-823-4088.
A memorial gathering to celebrate Mentgen’s life and work will be Tuesday, Nov. 1, for Healing Touch students and practitioners.
Please call Kumaran, 821-9051, for details.
