Pay Attention To Sleep Problems
Dr. Ira Zunin
Medical director at the Niolopua Sleep Wellness Center
Where did you receive your schooling and training?
I did my undergraduate work at the University of California at Berkeley in medical anthropology, mostly studying the role of the mind in Tibetan medicine during fieldwork in India and Nepal. I graduated from medical school at UCLA and hold a master’s in public health, with a focus on occupational health. I’m board certified in preventive medicine.
How long have you been in practice?
Twenty-one years. My clinic, Manakai O Malama Integrative Health Care Group and Rehabilitation Center, has been open 11 years. Our core work is integrative medicine – we work to bring together the best of modern medicine and traditional healing arts with cultural sensitivity using a whole-patient approach. We take care of children and families, as well as injured workers, those with sports injuries and we manage chronic pain.
Manakai O Malama also has departments for psychology, physical therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy and nutritional counseling. Over the years, we’ve worked on some key health issues, such as chronic pain and diabetes, that respond best to team-based, well-coordinated care. On the heels of the obesity-diabetes epidemic, there is another emerging epidemic: sleep apnea. Our team decided to apply its collaborative approach to care for sleep issues and recently opened the Niolopua Sleep Wellness Center at Manakai on the fourth floor of the Honolulu Club Building.
Who would most benefit from a trip to the Niolopua Sleep Wellness Center?
At the core of the center is a sleep lab. We built it with the comforts of home.
