Pure Mana Hawaii
opens retail location
Pure Mana Hawaii recently opened its first retail location in Kainaliu’s Mango Court, Mahina Mele Market.
Kollette Stith and Sue Mandini in 2015 co-founded their self-described “eco-luxe skin care” line in 2015. The line is locally and sustainably produced and packaged not far from the orchards sourced for its main ingredient: macadamia nut oil.
Stith, who is a native of Northern California, is a registered occupational therapist who helps with her family’s certified organic mac nut and coffee operation in Captain Cook — Mahina Mele Farms.
The certified organic farm, which grows both Izzie Macs! macadamia nuts and Kona Rose Coffee, also produces raw, dehydrated mac nuts as a value-added product and further uses these unroasted nuts to press into oil without using solvents.
“The mac nut oil is pressed slowly, in small batches without chemicals, to maintain its nutritious health value,” notes Stith. “This oil is the base for our Pure Mana products.”
Today, the company sustainably sources botanical ingredients from around the world to provide the most effective skin nourishment and blends them with its own farm-grown, hand-pressed 100% green Kona coffee and mac nut oils. The company’s lab is in Kealakekua.
Both zero waste zealots, Stith and Mandini offer a bottle refill program both online and at Mahina Mele Market. In addition to Pure Mana oils and serums, the store stocks the company’s spa line. The store is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday.
For more information, call 989-5898 or visit www.puremanahawaii.com.
HMSA wins award for virtual care during pandemic
The Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) was awarded the Pandemic Acceleration and Activation Award from national telehealth leader Amwell. This award recognizes organizations for their agile and swift virtual responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. HMSA was recognized for its ability to rapidly scale its virtual care platform, HMSA’s Online Care, to meet unprecedented levels of demand and deliver care safely to members during the pandemic.
“HMSA has been providing online care to our members for more than a decade,” said HMSA President and Chief Executive Officer Mark M. Mugiishi, M.D., F.A.C.S. “This award highlights HMSA’s response to COVID-19, where we saw a 271% increase in virtual visits from March to May and we cut the average wait time for patients by more than half.”
Due to an increase in member demand for Online Care, HMSA quickly trained and onboarded providers, which increased medical and behavioral health specialists by an additional 500 providers. HMSA also mobilized its own Online Care customer service team to better support providers and patients, which included updating hmsa.com with information about telehealth and using email and other channels to educate members about their benefits.
HMSA’s expanded coverage for telehealth services also includes waiving copayments for all telehealth services for fully insured commercial plan, Medicare, and Medicaid members through the end of the year.
For more information on HMSA’s Online Care, visit https://hmsa.com/well-being/online-care/.
