Dr. Ira D. Zunin described the moments he’ll miss most about his clinic.
“It’s usually earlier in the morning when the sun is coming through the window. There’s gentle music playing and the clinic is full of activity [from] physical therapists, acupuncturists, massage therapists, sleep medicine specialists, psychologists, all our other medical providers – and just that feeling of joy in my heart. That this is the best thing that I could do with this little life that I have.”
Zunin recently announced plans to retire next month after 36 years practicing medicine.
Since 2002, he has served as medical director of Manakai O Malama Integrative Healthcare Group and Rehabilitation Center in Honolulu, which he founded alongside his wife, Alia Zunin, an acupuncturist.
Together, the pair raised their son Brandon primarily in the clinic.
“We were able to strike an excellence balance,” Ira Zunin said about working with family. “And interestingly enough, our son regards the clinic as a sibling. He grew up there and feels like Manakai O Malama is a family member. He was 5 when we started and today is a biomedical engineer shifting into medicine.”
Zunin, who has spent most of his life in Hawaiʻi, enjoys going on medical missions with his family to help advance health care in remote areas in Asia.
He says as a teenager he was introduced to the idea of whole-person health that brings together modern medicine and traditional healing, while on a trip to India and Nepal.
“The vision really struck me; later, in my undergraduate work at UC Berkeley, I ran courses for westerners to learn Tibetan medicine. Such traditional systems of medicine have so much to offer. But modern medicine is wonderful, too, and we're saving lives. … So, to bring them together in a skillful, collaborative, intentional way, I thought would be the best way to practice.”
Zunin noted that nearly one million patients have been treated at Manakai O Malama, which offers services including sleep and brain wellness, Food as Medicine, mental and behavioral health, weight loss and more.
“Our goal is to create a medical home so that people can come bring their families,” he said. “It’s multi-generational, and it’s all customized, but not necessarily complex. We treat very common illnesses in a no-frills way, and we have the capacity and range to tackle patients with multiple injuries.”
He added: “We treat some of the sickest and complex patients that other facilities just can’t handle. We’ve managed a tremendous range of patients from a socioeconomic standpoint ... really trying to tailor the treatment to what is needed. So, we do it all.”
Industry insights
Today’s health care system is in the worst crisis we’ve ever seen, according to Zunin.
“Our large carriers, hospitals and small practices are having difficulties,” he continued. “So, many people are questioning why we’re spending twice as much as any other modern country on health care.
“I think the practitioners who have the most challenges are the independent primary care practices – the smaller they are, the more difficult is. And they’re just falling like flies. … It’s very difficult to make ends meet.”
According to the most recent Hawaiʻi Physicians Workforce Report, Hawaiʻi is short 833 full-time equivalent doctors, with the largest gaps on the Neighbor Islands.
Navigating the health insurance industry can be another headache, he added; however, despite the challenges, he said he would do it all over again.
“It’s the most rewarding and gratifying thing that I could imagine doing,” Zunin said.
Some bright spots he’s seen in the industry are innovations in neuroscience, weight loss medicine and cancer treatment, among others.
His advice for up-and-coming doctors is: “There’s a world to learn and it takes time. For me, this is really a sacred art. It’s a gift to be able to care for people who are suffering in some way. Never lose sight of that. Our motivation ought to be to do our best for who is in front of us.”
From his time spent teaching, his advice to medical students is to fall back on the conventional training fundamentals. “And a lot of interpersonal and transpersonal skills.”
Immediate sale of business & future plans
Zunin’s decision to step down as medical director of Manakai O Malama is “still sinking in,” he said.
But his hope is that the practice would evolve under new leadership.
“It really is integrative medicine: a living, breathing dynamic enterprise. We’ve had multiple buyers of interest,” he noted. “My dream and my prayer is that this kind of medicine can move forward. That access [to care] won’t be curtailed ... My top priority is to find a party that is prepared to take it over, and we're prepared to make it easy to take over. This is not about making a killing financially. But rather carrying this forward as a a sustainable operation for future generations."
Any party with immediate interest may contact Zunin directly at zunin@manakaiomalama.com. He plans to select a buyer in the coming days.
In retirement, Zunin plans to continue traveling, conducting research, offering concierge medicine, and remaining engaged with this transition. This summer, he is looking forward to teaching martial arts in Ireland and collecting data on lucid dreams in Bhutan, where he previously helped establish a medical school and taught its first classes.
“I would love to practice medicine up until my last breath,” he said, adding, “This has been a challenging decision, but an exciting one."
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Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
