WAILUA — Alan Thompson of Australia had never seen anything like the scene that played out before him yesterday. Thompson kept returning to the tidal pond at Lydgate Park and, on his final trip, returned with his camera to record
WAILUA — Alan Thompson of Australia had never seen anything like the scene that played out before him yesterday.
Thompson kept returning to the tidal pond at Lydgate Park and, on his final trip, returned with his camera to record the sight.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever seen,” said Thompson, a registered nurse for 20 years. “This is real good for nursing students because it makes them think outside the square.”
Thompson was watching the interaction between 19 nursing students from the Okinawa Prefectural College of Nursing, the long term care patients from Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital and the staff of the hospital. The group worked to get patients in and out of the waters of the tidal pool on their second and final beach outing of the summer.
Amidst shrieks when the tidal surge came in, the nursing students and hospital staff managed to wheel down eight patients — each escorted by a pair of students — to enjoy the water on special loungers.
“The students enjoy participating in this because it gives back to the community,” said Brian Yamamoto, a Kaua‘i Community College instructor who helps coordinate the trip with the Okinawan students.
Yamamoto said the students have been coming to KCC for the past six years. Their trip is designed to help the students improve their English while learning more about rural nursing. Additionally, the students get a taste of the local culture during their two-week stay on Kaua‘i.
The beach outing was just one of the field trips on the students’ two-week itinerary and has become an integral part of their trip here.
“This started small, but got bigger,” Josie Pablo, the long-term activities coordinator from Mahelona Hospital said as she chatted with Thompson about the program.
Pablo said the outing is designed so the patients can do what they used to do, though in some cases, Pablo said this is the first time they’ve been able to enjoy the beach.
Wednesday’s trip involved about 40 patients being transported to the Main Pavilion at Lydgate Park using the hospital’s fleet of buses as well as supplemental vehicles from Kaua‘i Bus.
“It’s a real production. You need to have special equipment and we have a lot of help from the hospital and the Kaua‘i Bus to make it happen,” Pablo said.
Helpers for the Wednesday beach outing included the Kaua‘i Bus, members of the Mahelona Auxiliary and staff from the different hospital departments.
“We have a problem attracting young people to nursing,” Thompson said. “A situation like this would help attract the young people.”
Thompson said there has been a lot of negative press about the risks and understaffing in nursing.
“Young people only see the bad side,” Thompson said. “This would definitely help them see why people become nurses.”
Prior to descending on Lyd-gate Park, the Okinawan students were at the hospital on a field trip, where they also got a taste of the preparation for getting clients ready for the beach.
Pablo said the hospital staff will be hosting a bon dance Friday night for the students.
“This is something they have at home so we can show them how Hawai‘i bon dances are,” Pablo said. “Plus we want to feed them.”
Yamamoto said Friday is the first night of the students’ home-stay experience, but was sure most of the host families were planning on taking in the hospital’s bon dance.
“This is food for the heart,” Thompson said.
