August 1, 2014 — Learn more about Dr. Kalani Brady, associate professor of JABSOM’s Department of Native Hawaiian Health and an internal medicine doctor at the Lau Ola Clinic.

[Video opens with Dr. Brady’s name and title]
Update October 2018: The video is no longer available. Please view the transcript below. 

I’m Kalani Brady. I’m an internal medicine doctor with Lau Ola Clinic as part of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health’s teaching clinics. We see primarily Native Hawaiian patients, although we are happy to see everyone and our specialty is chronic health care.

We see patients on a regular basis. I’m there three days a week and see patients on the weekends, as needed. I’m on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for our patients that become sicker. Our patients have a lot of the chronic medical conditions that a lot of doctors treat patients for – high blood pressure, kidney problems, diabetes, cholesterol problems as well as acute illnesses. The beauty of internal medicine is developing friendships with patients so that we take care of them and become friends over the course of time. So I’ve got patients in Lau Ola Clinic that I’ve been taking care of for 30 years, and that’s the real joy of medicine for me.

I was evidencing that I was called to be a doctor from age 3 or 4. By the time I was in high school, I was doing medical research – first at Kuakini, and then at Straub. Then I did medical research in published papers and then applied to medical school. And the reason was I felt called to take care of people in a way that was a very special way. Much like a priest that helps people with their spiritual health, doctors help people with their overall health.

One of the big obstacles was getting into medical school, and in fact, I didn’t get into medical school the very first time I applied. So I went to public health school and got a Master’s and Ph.D and all that dissertation in biostatistics and public health and re-applied to medical school. So it’s a good lesson to those who are coming up and hoping to get into medical school. If at first you don’t succeed, then try again! Hone what skills you need to hone, and then re-apply to medical school.

I graduated…I actually did my school of public health here. I went to high school here, went away to college, came back to graduate school in the school of public health, went away to medical school, and then finally returned for residency here in Hawai’i.

My typical work days are all different. On Wednesdays, I’m in Kalaupapa, which is where the Hansen’s patients of Father Damien are and I see patients there, or else I see them in Hale Mohalu as part of Leahi Hospital, and those are Hansen’s patients with chronic healthcare needs. On Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, I see patients in the clinic here in Lau Ola. Those days are appointed patients that come in through the morning and the afternoon, and we help them with their health there. On Mondays, I’m administrative for the Department and for the School of Medicine helping with the continuing medical education of physicians in the State of Hawai’i.

We have our Lau Ola Clinic number, 469-4830, extension 1, and they can set appointments up with new patients as well as revisiting patients. It’s in the Gold Bond building, as people when I was growing up knew this building. It’s also known as 677 Ala Moana Boulevard, and we’re on the 10th floor in Suite 1016.

We’re happy to accept new patients, so we take new patients every week.

We’re glad for the support that UCERA gives us and for the teamwork that UCERA has in taking care of our patients.

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