Congratulations to all of us!! We have won a national award!!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Hawaii Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Receives National Award
(Honolulu, HI – June 20, 2013) Kōkua Mau, Hawaii’s Hospice and Palliative Care Organization was honored with the 2013 Trailblazer Award during the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s (NHPCO) Leadership and Management Conference in Washington D.C. The accolade recognizes the state-wide organization for developing innovative methods to improve patient access to quality and compassionate care.
“One of the things that we were impressed with was Kōkua Mau, Hawaii’s Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s commitment to working collaboratively across the healthcare continuum in the creation of this program that can be used as a model in other states,” said Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.
Palliative Care is specialized care for people with serious illnesses and focuses on providing patients relief from symptoms, pain and stress of a serious illness. It is appropriate for any age and can be provided together with curative treatment. Hospice Care is a type of palliative care offered in the last six months of life and focuses on caring, not curing. In most cases, care is provided in the patient’s home by an interdisciplinary team but also provided in in-patient and long-term care facilities.
Since 1999, Kōkua Mau has partnered with healthcare insurance providers throughout the state including HMSA, Kaiser, UHA and HMAA to improve the care that is provided to seriously ill people and support their loved ones. In recent years, it has collaborated extensively with HMSA on initiatives to greatly improve efforts to educate patients of their treatment options so to ensure their healthcare wishes are honored, and pilot programs spanning the entire state to enhance care provided to seriously-ill patients.
“Hawai`i is a special place and this national award reflects our collaborative approach to meeting our community’s needs,” said Kōkua Mau Executive Director Jeannette Koijane. “Our goal is to bring everyone together to help care for our loved ones. From the many professions who impact the quality of life of our seriously-ill to the organizations who advocate for their needs, we invite them all to the table. We are honored to receive this Trailblazer Award.”
Kōkua Mau’s mission is to weave a lei of caregiving and support so that the people of Hawaii facing serious illness can live in the place of their choice, with relief of pain and suffering and according to their values, beliefs and traditions. More information can be found at www.kokuamau.org.
Media Contact:
Jeannette Koijane
Kōkua Mau, Hawaii Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Phone: 808-585-9977
www.kokuamau.org