EBT sets Hawaiian resort apart from competitors

Sun, sand, scenic waterfalls, and electron-beam tomography await visitors to the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort and Spa in Honolulu.

In an effort to provide its guests with just about anything they could want, the island resort has begun scanning guests with EBT. Imatron installed the system last October, distinguishing the Hilton Hawaiian Village as the first resort in the world to offer EBT. In its four months of operation, more than 600 patients have been scanned.

“We are changing the face of hospitality in Waikiki,” said Peter H. Schall, vice president and managing director of Hawaiian Village.

The full-body examination includes a scan of the heart, lungs, abdomen, and pelvis, as well as bone densitometry. Virtual colonoscopy is also offered. Exams are interpreted by a board-certified physician. The patient receives a CD-ROM containing the report accompanied by images.

The groundwork for offering these scans was laid by guests who indicated an interest in proactive rather than reactive medicine, according to Schall. EBT was chosen at the suggestion of Dr. John C. Klock, an internist and hematologist-oncologist formerly with the University of California, San Francisco. Klock, cofounder of Holistica Hawaii Health Center, framed installation of the EBT scanner partly as a way to set the resort apart from competitors, but more as the means for providing a valuable service to guests.

“We determined a need for a consumer-based state-of-wellness evaluation that’s not routed through doctors,” Klock said.

After entering into an alliance with Klock’s Health Center, Hawaiian Village ordered the EBT system and the program began. The scanner, which is the only EBT system in Hawaii, has been so busy that resort administrators have extended its hours of operation. The scanner is currently housed in temporary quarters, awaiting transfer later this year to Kalia Tower, a $95 million project slated to open in June.

EBT is just the first step in the development of Hawaiian Village’s wellness program. In the future, the resort will offer diagnostic ultrasound and molecular diagnostics.

“People who are concerned about their health will be able to get the reassurance they want,” Klock said. “If they’re at risk, we’ll help them with follow-up; if they’re not, we’ll help map out a healthy lifestyle,” he said.