Key Hawai‘i Community Resources for Those with Serious Illness
Please note: These lists were compiled and updated by Kōkua Mau as a community service. Please call the number listed to find out details about the specific group or program, as time and personnel can change. We need your help to maintain these lists and ask you to send any additions or edits to us. Thank you.
What is Palliative Care?
- Quick link to: Palliative Care in Hawai‘i
Palliative Care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.
- Palliative care is provided by a specially-trained team of doctors, nurses and other specialists who work together with a patient’s other doctors to provide an extra layer of support.
- Palliative care is based on the needs of the patient, not on the patient’s prognosis.
- This care is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness, and it can be provided along with curative treatment.
Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC, 2019)
What is Hospice Care?
• Quick link to Hospices in Hawaii with phone numbers
Hospice 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. Hospice is covered under Medicare, Medicaid, and most private insurance plans and is provided on all islands.
Quick link: Resources for people with serious illness in Hawai‘i
These resources cover a variety of services helping to relieve suffering, offer choices and provide support across the care continuum. To keep these as up-to-date as possible, we provide pdf files that are easy to print.
Please click on the topic to access the PDF file or web page with the list of resources
- Two-Page Sheet: Key Hawai‘i Community Resources for Those with Serious Illness for Hawai‘i
- Advance Directive
- POLST (Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a provider’s order that gives patients more control over their end-of-life care. More information here
Grief and Bereavement Support The Bereavement Network of Hawaii maintains a comprehensive, constantly updated list of support groups and services in Hawai‘i.
Materials
Kōkua Mau has a variety of helpful free materials, including booklets for caregivers, advance directives, DVDs and other information. You can order some materials directly from Kōkua Mau.
The Department of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Hawai‘i created a local video on Dysphagia (Trouble Swallowing) and Aging to help Caregivers.
Here is an updated link to the (English) video with is also available in Samoan . An Ilocano and Chuukese version will be added soon. There is also an evaluation for those who watch the video to provide feedback. For a copy of a DVD, please contact: Department of Geriatric Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii. Tel: 808-523-8461.
Caregiver Coalition
Hawaiʻi has an excellent Family Caregiver Coalition. Please contact them for more information or to be added to their mailing list.
Executive Office on Aging (EOA), State of Hawai‘i
If you have questions about aging and disability, The Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) is your source in Hawai‘i for answers, with information about the home and community services you may need. ADRC is a one-stop resource for long-term care, information and services. Call statewide at 808-643-2372, or visit www.HawaiiADRC.org. The service is free.
Other Web Resources for Caregivers:
Executive Office on Aging: (808) 586-0100
No. 1 Capitol District, 250 South Hotel Street, Suite 406, Honolulu HI 96813-2831
Honolulu Elderly Affairs Division: (808) 768-7700
925 Dillingham Boulevard, Suite 200, Honolulu, HI 96817
Office on Aging – County of Maui (808) 270-7774
2200 Main St., Suite 547, Wailuku, HI 96793
The County of Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs (AEA): (808) 241-4470
Pi‘ikoi Building, 4444 Rice Street, Suite 330, Lihue HI 96766
Hawai‘i County Office of Aging
Hilo Office: (808) 961-8626
1055 Kino’ole Street, Suite 101, Hilo HI 96720-3872
Kona Office: (808) 323-4390, Hanama Place, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy, Bdg B, Kailua-Kona HI 96740
Please consult these Hawai‘i focused resources:
State of Hawai‘i, Department of Health
Elderly Affairs Division
Honolulu City and County’s Resource for Aging, Disability and Caregiving: You may also want to download or check on the web their most recent publications as PDF files. (Please keep in mind that printed materials are available less and less, especially since the pandemic)
Family Caregiving Guide (pdf file)
Written to help those that are providing long term care to others. Includes information and advice about services available in Honolulu County.
Other Resources
There are more and more resources focusing on care giving on the Web. This list is not exhaustive, but here are some highlights provided by members of our network.
Hā Kūpuna
Hā Kūpuna, the National Resource Center for Native Hawaiian Elders, is one of three National Resource Centers for Native Elders funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging, Department of Health and Human Services.
University of Hawai‘i Center on Aging
The health and quality of life of older adults is a vital concern in this changing demographic and economic climate. To enhance the well-being of older adults, the University of Hawai‘i Center on Aging is committed to interdisciplinary and collaborative efforts in research, educational programs and service to the community.
Hawaii Community Caregiver Network
Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society
Organized in 1979, the Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society (HPGS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of Hawaii’s older adults
Note: These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; they do not constitute an endorsement or an approval by the Kōkua Mau of any of the products, services or opinions of the corporation, organization or individual. Kōkua Mau bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.