Celebrating Generations of Care STRAUB 100 TH ANNIVERSARY
IN 1921 , DR . GEORGE F . STRAUB HAD AN IDEA . He envisioned a health care model in Hawai ‘ i that put patients first and where the needs of an entire family could be met under one roof . A hundred years later , his dream has not only touched the lives of tens of thousands of patients , but the careers of many local physicians , including Dr . Lynn Yanagihara .
Dr . Yanagihara grew up in Hawai ‘ i . After earning her medical degree , the young physician was fortunate to be one of the first doctors to open Straub Medical Center ‘ s Kāne ‘ ohe Clinic in 1986 . She still has the invitation to that grand opening . Now , thirty-five years later , staff look for Dr . Yanagihara when they hear the endearing signature sound of her three Hawaiian bracelets clanging as she walks down the hall . As much as Straub Clinic has become a fixture in Kāne ‘ ohe , so has the experienced doctor known fondly as “ Dr . Lynn .“
“ The vision was to take health care out of town and into the community ,“ Dr . Yanigihara said . “ To be a part of that was really exciting .“
Dr . Lynn Yanagihara ‘ s office is full of keepsakes from generations of patient families .
“ It was a time when there were a lot of things in the media about satellites and stuff , and that ‘ s how our first commercial introduced us . I still remember the image overlooking the Windward side at night with all the lights and then the satellite coming into the picture to become a part of this community . I just thought that was so clever at the time .“
Like that satellite , the clinic was on the forefront of progress . When its team first opened the doors , Dr . Yanigihara served as the only pediatrician , working with an internist and an OB-GYN alongside a small imaging team and a few nurses . Since then , the staff has nearly tripled with seven full-time physicians , and services have expanded to include preventive care screenings like mammograms . But Dr . Yanagihara credits the patients , their trust and loyalty , for keeping the facility going .
“ We were very much welcomed by the community and we still are ,“ Dr . Yanigihara said . “ I have to say that the reputation that Straub had already established helped us a lot .“
Dr . George F . Straub was a committed surgeon who even attended to the medical needs of Queen Lili ‘ uokalani . However , he began to feel medical
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