Kokua Mau

COVID-19 Resources

On this (once) regularly updated page we listed COVID-19 resources helpful for our members and supporters. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for regular updates.

Thank you to all of our amazing health care professionals and your incredible contributions in the face of the COVID-19 crisis. We wish we could give you all a real lei for the wonderful work you are doing. Mahalo nui loa.

Hawaii flowers as a spacer to break up the text

Vaccines

Communication skills for talking about COVID vaccines 

This is a good resource from our colleagues at VitalTalk and is a supplement to the toolkit on messaging during COVID that we know many have used.

Check out our a newest supplement to the COVID-Ready Communication Playbook that addresses communication skills for talking about COVID vaccines.  https://www.vitaltalk.org/guides/communication-skills-for-the-covid-vaccine/

Thanks to Shaquita Bell, Fay Hlubock, James Tulsky, Bob Arnold, Tony Back and Cardinale Smith for putting together the tip sheet!

These communication skills are designed for clinicians to use with patients and families, using an approach adapted from motivational interviewing and research on vaccine hesitancy. Note that this approach differs from public messaging, which is meant to introduce the topic to broad groups of the public, usually on social media or mass media. In contrast to public messaging, clinicians have the opportunity to engage patients as persons so that their particular concerns can be addressed and coping strengths mobilized.

The concerns addressed by these skills reflect research published in Dec 2020 identifying common reasons people cited for not wanting to be vaccinated.

Note that prior research on vaccine hesitancy indicates that persons holding extreme negative views on vaccines are unlikely to be swayed. Thus these skills are designed to address people who are indeterminate, or not sure, or deciding—for this group, openness, empathy, and offering information after they give permission or show interest can build trust and your credibility as a messenger.

Toolkits

Caring for People with Serious Illness: Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Proceedings of a Workshop (published in 2022).

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted existing weaknesses in the United States health care system, while creating a new set of challenges related to caring for people with serious illness. The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness hosted a three-part workshop to explore the initial responses to the pandemic. Download the PDF or read for free at The National Academies Press website.

The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) has a tailor made COVID-19 Response Resources toolkit.

CAPC describes the tools, skills, and training health systems should deploy immediately to ensure appropriate symptom management and patient communication in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Updated daily.

What’s in the CAPC Toolkit?

  • Communication Tips
  • Symptom Management Protocols
  • Palliative Care Team Tools
  • Telemedicine
  • Patient and Family Support Resources from the CDC
  • Medicare COVID-19 Waivers
  • Federal COVID-19 Guidance
  • Setting-Specific Guidance

Update March 2021: CAPC continues to update their resources so check their pages periodically. Here are some new materials to check out.

CAPC Telehealth and Palliative Care Toolkit

Practicing flawless basics: palliative care in the time of Covid Toolkit for Practicing Flawless Basics

Eyes on Prize, stakeholder engagement toolkit Planning Forward Toolkit:
Emotional PPE Toolkit

Ariadne Labs’ Serious Illness Care Program developed a COVID-19 Response Toolkit to support health systems and clinicians in addressing the communication needs of patients in the community and those in the hospital. The toolkit includes:

Information on Coronavirus is geared at the general public.

Respecting Choices published an open source COVID-19 Resource toolkit on their website https://respectingchoices.org/covid-19-resources/. It contains quick education and associated conversation guides for proactive care planning conversations for those with serious illness at high risk for COVID-19. Their ‘Help with Breathing and CPR nationally certified decision aids’, along with some patient facing information.

Communication Skills

CAPC: Ongoing—Free Virtual Office Hours on Communications Coaching and more

The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) continues to offer office hours during the COVID-19 pandemic. Free and open to all, many are focused on communications coaching, examining real case scenarios. Others deal with a broad range of topics such as resiliency, pediatric palliative care, telehealth, and moral distress in the time of COVID-19. Learn more and register.

VitalTalk open source primer.

To health care professionals everywhere: these are unprecedented times. There’s no roadmap. We’re facing conversations that we never expected – or wanted – to have.

Vital Talk created the COVID-ready communication skills: A playbook of VitalTalk Tips. This free guide helps professionals start conversations and provides some practical advice on how to talk about some difficult topics related to COVID-19. Since 3/30 they have added a number of short videos. The 13-page guide is available in 14 languages.

Vital Talk has 2 decades of experience studying and teaching communication and crowdsourced this resource.

VitalTalk Tips App

For clinicians who care for patients with serious illness and their families, having great communication skills makes a difference – your patients will understand their medical situation better, and build trust with you faster, and you’ll be able to guide them to medical decisions that match their values. VitalTalk has created an app that contains communication skill tips, focused on the moments where clinicians most often get stuck. The VitalTalk Tips app is available for iPhone and for Android devices.

HPNA COVID-19 Patient Care Guides

The Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association developed a series of Primary Palliative Nursing COVID-19 Patient Care Guides. Written by national nursing experts in the hospice and palliative nursing field, these guides highlight key nursing information about anxiety, communication, pain, delirium, dyspnea, nausea, terminal secretions and nursing care and support at end-of-life. This information is on the HPNA website. 

End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Resources

ELNEC COVID-19 Communication Resource Guide
Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are having to notify family members of patients with COVID-19 about the patient’s death by telephone. This can be quite difficult if the APRN is not comfortable making the call. This educational tool guides the APRN through preparing for the call, making the call, delivering the news, and closing the call. Helpful tips for supporting the family are included.

ELNEC Final Hours- Adapted for COVID-19 Crisis
Patients and families need us to be fully present- even when we have to be wearing PPE and respecting social distancing. During these challenging times, it is so important that we use our strong communication skills to help support patients and families, especially those facing the end of life.

The ELNEC team (End of Life Nursing Education Consortium) extends their support for all clinicians providing palliative care and hopes you make sure to take care of yourselves during this challenging time.End of Life Nursing Education Consortium

ELNEC has provided free resources for support, so please take advantage and share with colleagues.

Burnout

Supportive resources for (Colorado) healthcare workers

As the Covid-19 pandemic has unfolded, the stressors on our healthcare workers have been on-going and complex. These unprecedented times are having a significant impact on the well-being and mental health of healthcare workers across the state. 

The Colorado Healthcare Ethics Resource Group wanted to create awareness of the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on Colorado’s healthcare workers and to develop a toolkit for healthcare workers to identify and address burnout, moral distress, and traumatic stress responses in themselves, their colleagues, and the healthcare systems in which they provide care. Some of the resources are specific to Colorado but a lot is applicable nationwide. https://cohcwcovidsupport.org/

Emotional PPE from CAPC

Resources for improving team health and tools to help clinicians cope with moral distress, grief, and trauma. A blend of PDF files and videos on the CAPC website.

Grief

When United States passed the grim milestone of 500,000 deaths from COVID-19 a short video from NHPCO which included the reminder that hospices, including our own Hawaii hospices, are ready to support people who are grieving a loss, regardless if they were in hospice care or not. 

You can also visit the Bereavement Network of Hawaii’s local resources. This list is updated regularly.

Dealing with GRIEF: A Series of 5 Short, Powerful Videos

To help address complex trauma, the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF) has teamed up with the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network (SWHPN), the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) to bring you complimentary innovative resources on grief education. 

Dealing with GRIEF: A Series of 5 Short, Powerful Videos aims to provide timely and practical information to help you care for the physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of your patients and their families.

Each video is 2-5 minutes in length and includes a downloadable resource guide which are provided below. The videos are complimentary and can be accessed via the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association YouTube channel.

Zoom Get Togethers in Hawaiʻi

Many of our zoom meetings can be found on our YouTube Channel. Here is a listing with the latest videos first.

Kōkua Mau Recordings of our Virtual Meetings

All recordings of our Kōkua Mau meetings can be found in sequence on our dedicated webpage: kokuamau.org/dvdvideos/

FREE PPE from Hawaii State COVID-19 PPE Distribution Program

If you are a medical/dental practice, adult or foster care facility, small hospital, child, school, small business or non-profit in Hawaii, you can order free PPE. It will take 2-3 months to get what you order, but we will get you a box of what is available now. Multilingual flyers now available on where to order free PPE. Please use them and share with your stakeholders. We have listed the PDF files of all languages we received here, since there is no website where we can link to, as of yet.

Chinese • English • Ilocano • Japanese • Korean • Tagalog

Multilingual Resources about COVID-19

NEW: Multilingual vaccine information

City and County of Honolulu: www.oneoahu.org/translations
Currently: Chinese, Chuukese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Marshallese, Samoan, Tongan, Vietnamese.

Department of Health, State of Hawai‘i (DOH): health.hawaii.gov/ola/covid19-multilingual/
Currently: English, 简体中文, Chinese-Simplified, 繁體中文 Chinese-Traditional, Chuukese, Ilocano, 日本語 Japanese, 한국어 Korean, Kosraean, Marshallese, Pohnpeian, Samoan, Tagalog, ภาษาไทย (Thai), Tongan, Vietnamese, Yapese. Please make sure you visit their website, since languages are added as they become available.

Qualified bilingual helpline specialists for COVID-19

We Are Oceania (WAO) is a collaborative project aimed at centralizing the support system for all Micronesian communities, families and individuals in Hawai‘i.

Qualified bilingual helpline specialists in Chuukese, Marshallese, Kosraean and Pohnepeian are already available to talk about COVID-19. Watch the PSA is the language on their website.

They are seeking qualified bilingual helpline specialists in Chuukese, Marshallese, Kosraean, Yapese, Pohnepeian, Palauan and Samoan.

POLST

Hawaii POLST Endorsement Reaffirmed

Good news and congratulations to all of us in Hawai‘i who work to make POLST a strong program. Our POLST program’s endorsement was reaffirmed for the coming 3 years which is a strong indication of our collective efforts to educate and use POLST properly.

National POLST Resources: POLST and COVID-19

To help address questions about POLST during the coronavirus pandemic, polst.org provided Frequently Asked Questions documents for health care professionals and patients on their COVID-19 website.

  • National POLST: Long-Term Care Facility Guidance for POLST & COVID-19 (PDF file)
  • National POLST COVID-19 Statement (3/30) PDF file
  • Guidance for Completing POLST Forms in Crisis Standards of Care (3/30) PDF file
  • Nursing Facility Specific tools

National POLST Technology Guide (March 2021)

Technology is transforming care delivery. For POLST to be most beneficial and useful, the most recently completed POLST form needs to be immediately available when and where health care professionals need it to make treatment decisions and patients should be able to easily share their form with loved ones.

This guide from the National POLST Project provides recommendations to help make this happen and discusses technological interoperability of POLST data nationwide, EHRs, registries and mobile technology.

Other POLST Resources

Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Please consult our Kōkua Mau pages for the general public about Advance Care Planning, Advance Health Care Directives and POLST for in-depth information.

Advance Care Planning Best Practices Report with focus on Hawai‘i

C-TAC has released the full version of a report designed to identify strategies that could be used to boost the use of advance care planning (ACP), a practice that is now more important than ever as we face the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discern Health, a healthcare quality and research advisory organization, developed the report.

Hawai‘i features prominently in the report as we are leading the nation in Advance Care Planning in certain measures, although there is clearly a long way to go. Jeannette Koijane, Hope Young, Dr. Rae Seitz and Dr. Emese Somogyi were interviewed along with Dr. Angelo Volandes from ACP Decisions.

“Thoughtful conversations about goals of care are more important now than ever before as we face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said C-TAC Executive Director Jon Broyles. “This report identifies several key practices that can be used to promote advance care planning across the country and ensure that people receive the care they want in the setting that is right for them.”

COVID Conversations Toolbox from the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California (CCCC)

The COVID-19 pandemic makes the threat of becoming seriously ill frighteningly real – and greatly emphasizes the need to know each patient’s values and wishes regarding treatment options. Conversations around serious illness and medical treatment options can be very empowering. The CCCC‘s COVID Communications Toolbox provides easy access and support for healthcare providers and consumers, as they navigate decision-making during these these challenging times.

During the COVID crisis, CCCC is making free (until July 31) digital versions of their popular Decision Aids available to download and share with consumers. CCCC’s Decision Aids explain the complex topics of life-sustaining treatments using consumer-friendly language with neutral, evidence-based information. Topics include Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Ventilator, Artificial Hydration, and Tube Feeding. Available in multiple languages.

The Conversation Project

Download a brand new Conversation Project guide specific to COVID-19, to help people take action and be prepared. We can’t control how this pandemic plays out. But we can control who speaks for us if we’re unable to speak for ourselves, and we can take the time to make sure they know what matters most to us. Have this conversation today.

Feb 2021 News: the Conversation Project released a new Conversation Starter Guides on their website. We are currently working of adapting to new (English) Starter Guide to our Hawai‘i needs. There’s a lot that still has a familiar look and feel, but they spent the last ten months working to refresh the messaging and approach to ensure the tools are inclusive and accessible to everyone. Currently available in English, Spanish, and Chinese – we anticipate future translations in the coming months.

They as well added new resources, including a “Guide for Talking with a Health Care Team”, and the “What Matters to Me Workbook”.

Telehealth

For up-to-date TELEHEALTH ‘Telehealth tab‘ on the CAPC COVID-19 Response Resources page

With physical distancing telehealth is more important every day. The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) becomes the one-stop site for starting or carrying on a telehealth program.

Virtually Perfect? Telemedicine for COVID-19
March 11, 2020, New England Journal of Medicine.

Upcoming Webinars

Please visit our dedicated Webinar page

Palliative Care – Extra Support for people with Cancer

Recording available of this presentation by Kōkua Mau and the Quality of Life committee of the Hawaii Cancer Coalition to support individuals living with cancer, their families and their caregivers, as well as healthcare providers who want to learn more about how Palliative Care can support individuals with serious illness.

Presenters include:

  • Dr. Daniel Fischberg, Medical Director, Pain & Palliative Care Department, The Queen’s Medical Center
  • Sara-May Colón, Chaplain at Adventist Health.
  • Hear a conversation with Andrea Bacos about her “Caregiver’s Journey” with Palliative Care.
  • Jeannette Koijane, Executive Director, Kōkua Mau: Where to find Palliative Care in Hawaii

Health care workers in all disciplines are facing unprecedented challenges as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. To assist, the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) has open tools and technical assistance with practical strategies for resiliency during COVID-19. Register now for upcoming and on-demand webinars.

  • On-Demand Webinar –  Staying Resilient as the COVID-19 Pandemic Continues (free streaming online)
  • Master Class Series: To learn more about resiliency, visit CAPC’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Resources Hub. All resources in this mobile-friendly hub are free and open-to-all during the pandemic.

For recorded webinars please visit our Webinar COVID-19 page

Hospice

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) has created a dedicated page to the coronavirus. You can sign up to receive NHPCO’s COVID-19 updates by email.

NHPCO: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Shared Decision-Making Tool (March 19, 2020) PDF file

Training

HAH on-demand training for healthcare professionals in Hawai‘i

The Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH) and HealthStream have partnered to offer online, on-demand training for healthcare professionals across the state of Hawaii.

Access to the on-demand content is FREE and available for a limited time (through November 30, 2020). We welcome any healthcare professional, student or volunteer to REGISTER and make the most of this opportunity.

Courses, many of which come with continuing education credits, are available for case management, social work, EMT, critical care RNs in a variety of settings, pharmacy, students and volunteers. Click here for the full list.

Free Training courses for healthcare professionals from CSU Shiley Institute for Palliative Care. 

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a severe healthcare crisis. Those most at risk from the virus – the elderly, frail, and/or those with underlying serious health problems – are the exact patient population that palliative care is designed to serve. To help clinicians quickly build basic palliative care skills and better serve patients and families affected by this crisis, CSU is offering Select Palliative Care Courses free of charge through June 30.

National Organizations

The National Coalition For Hospice & Palliative Care represents the 12 leading professional organizations dedicated to advancing the delivery of high-quality serious illness care to all who need it. Please visit their website for the latest COVID-19 information.

SWHPN: Resources for Hospice and Palliative Care Social Worker Professionals during the COVID-19 Crisis

The Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network is developing an ongoing list of resources for this dedicated page with tips for social workers on the front lines, and facilitators for virtual Social Work Open Discussions. Please reach out to info@swhpn.org to contribute or participate.

Multilingual Resources about COVID-19

City and County of Honolulu:
www.oneoahu.org/translations
Currently: Chinese, Chuukese, Filipino, Hawaiian, Japanese, Korean, Marshallese, Samoan, Tongan, Vietnamese

Department of Health, State of Hawai‘i (DOH):
health.hawaii.gov/ola/covid19-multilingual/
Currently: English, 简体中文, Chinese-Simplified, 繁體中文 Chinese-Traditional, Chuukese, Ilocano, 日本語 Japanese, 한국어 Korean, Kosraean, Marshallese, Pohnpeian, Samoan, Tagalog, ภาษาไทย (Thai), Vietnamese

April 30, 2020, NPR, Morning Edition. The coronavirus means more people are dying alone in ICUs. Families are having to make abrupt decisions at a distance about terminal care. Palliative care specialists try to adapt. Listen to the 4 minute NPR program.

Listen to the short, well done interview Critical Care Doctor Explains Directives Followed In Near-Death Cases on All Things Considered NPR Story with Dr. Jessica Zitter, a critical and palliative care specialist takes listener questions about advanced directives that doctors follow in critical situations. (8 minutes)

April 12, 2020: Kokua Line: Naming a health-care proxy more important than ever

Read the article in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser’s Kokua Line by Christine Donnelly, from April 12, 2020. All COVID-19 coverage has free access at the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Inspirational Thoughts

In these trying times we all need some perspective and some insightful reflection. In no particular order or priority we will list here website or blogs that hopefully will inspirational to you.

The Pause Newsletter comes highly recommended by Kōkua Mau’s own Clarence Liu: “It is deeply spiritual without the trappings of religious language, poetic, and consoling. In short, a gem.” The Pause is our Saturday morning newsletter, a gathering of threads from the far-flung, ongoing conversation that is The On Being Project.

Kōkua Mau’s own Clarence Liu shared a resource with us: Spiritual Practices for the Coronavirus Pandemic. Spiritual Practice website aims to disarm fear and uncertainty, use while taking preventative measures, handle social distancing and quarantine, be present with illness, and sustain hope.

That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief, by Scott Berinato
March 23, 2020, Harvard Business review. They turned to David Kessler, an expert on grief, for ideas on how to do that.

Most of you know Atul Gawande for his work on advancing conversations on end-of-life goals of care – author of Being Mortal and The Checklist Manifesto. His article from 3/21 in the New Yorker: Keeping the Coronavirus from Infecting Health-Care Workers.

Ira Byock‘s piece: “This Pandemic Is Personal”

The Role of Palliative Care in a COVID-19 Pandemic by Jennifer Ballentine, Shiley, CSU. Link

Navigating COVID-19 as a Hospice and Palliative Care Professional by
Joe Rotella, Chief Medical Officer, AAHPM Link

Zoom tips

Most of the time zoom works like a charm, flawlessly. If this is the case for you may stop reading here. Otherwise visit:

Our dedicated, regularly updated website: zoom made easy

There are a million things that can go wrong. If you are among the unlucky ones, here are some videos on our webpage that may help.

Malama Hawai‘i

COVID-19 Respond with Aloha

Please note: These effort were created in April 2020 when PPE were in short supply and serves as a great testimony for human creativity and resilience in a crisis.

As COVID-19 impacts Hawai‘i in early 2020 and the global community, it is an important time to respond with aloha and take care of each other. Kanu Hawai‘i accelerated plans in April 2020 for the annual Volunteer Week to support an on-going virtual volunteer response to support community needs and address economic impacts related to COVID-19.

Let’s make Personal Protection Equipment for Hawaii

  • Is your facility looking for Personal Protection Equipment?
  • Do you want to help by sewing masks, such as the Olson mask, or creating other materials for local agencies here in Hawai‘i? 

Kōkua Mau will be coordinating with our movement and our members to reach out to crafting communities, sewing circles, and any volunteers who want to support our medical community right here in our islands. If you would like to help, like sew masks, contact us and we can help connect you with local agencies (or you can go onto getusppe.org.) Details, videos and patterns on our webpage

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.