Advance Care Planning (ACP), Advance Directives and Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Facilitator Training (April)
2025-04-08 08:00 - 16:30 (Pacific/Honolulu) | Hawaii
This training is offered for nurses, physicians, social workers, and other clinicians and focuses on communication skills to improve ACP discussions. The class will review key elements and processes related to ACP, advance directives and POLST development.

Course Objectives:

Apply advance care planning resources to promote advance care planning discussions.

Engage the multi-disciplinary team to patient-centered discussion addressing advance care planning.

Promote patients’ knowledge of advance directives, including healthcare Power of Attorney designation.

Implement correct documentation of Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)-Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR), full and limited treatment, time-limited trials and Comfort Care.

Promote correct process of ACP documents, access and utilization in your organization.

Identify end-of-life options including Hawai‘i’ requirements on Medical Aid in Dying, Our Care, Our Choice Act.

First Insurance Center (FIC), Education Department1100 Ward Ave, Honolulu, HI 96814

Choose one day to attend from 0800-1630

Download the flyer

Tue June 17, 2025, FIC 970 • Mon Sept 15, 2025, FIC 630

Registration: HPH employees: Manager’s approval is required prior to registering AND register online through HPH Learning Center (HLC). Type in catalog: Advance Care Planning or POLST; Select course: HPH – Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives and Facilitator Certification

Non HPH participants: Register online: https://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/health-wellness/continuing- education/. Any questions contact Michelle Cantillo, RN, HPH ACP Coordinator via email michelle.cantillo@hawaiipacifichealth.org.

Kokua Mau Meeting April 2025
2025-04-24 15:00 - 17:00 | Hawaii
Stacie Sinclair, CAPC’s Associate Director, Policy and Care Transformation will present the finding from CAPC’s Serious Illness Scorecard that rates each state’s capacity to deliver high-quality care to people living with a serious illness, and their families and caregivers. It provides an in-depth report on each state’s palliative care landscape and offers actionable recommendations to improve palliative care access in each state or region.

Discussion objectives are:

Describe national trends in palliative care access

Describe the methodology used to determine Hawaii’s score

Leverage the Scorecard and individual state report to identify, prioritize, and advance initiatives to increase palliative care access in Hawaii

Click here to see the scorecard

There is lots happening with palliative care in Hawaii and nationally and this scorecard offers interesting insights. It will also be an indicator to watch in the years ahead.

Please join us for our Virtual Monthly Meeting on zoom, to learn, laugh, mingle and network. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for the most up-to-date information and zoom log-ins. A recording of many of our meetings are available on our YouTube channel, in case you might have missed it.

Last Thursday of the month* from 3 to 5 pm (on zoom)

Each month’s topic is announced in our eNewsletter

Each month we have updates about events in the community and one or more guest speakers.

Meetings are open to all.

*Please note that there are always months with five Thursdays. The meeting is on that last (5th) Thursday of that month (except November & December when we have a combined meeting after Thanksgiving).

ACP and POLST Facilitator Training Kauaʻi
2025-05-13 08:00 - 16:30 | Hawaii
This training is offered for nurses, physicians, social workers and other clinicians and focuses on communication skills to improve ACP discussions. The class will review key elements and processes related to ACP, advance directives and POLST development.

Course Objectives:

Apply advance care planning resources to promote advance care planning discussions.

Engage the multi-disciplinary team to patient-centered discussion addressing advance care planning.

Promote patients’ knowledge of advance directives, including healthcare Power of Attorney designation.

Implement correct documentation of Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)-CardiopulmonarymResuscitation (CPR), Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR), full and limited treatment, time-limited trials and Comfort Care.

Promote correct process of ACP documents, access and utilization in your organization.

Identify end-of-life options including Hawai‘i’s requirements on Medical Aid in Dying, Our Care, Our Choice Act.

Tue May 13 2025 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.Wilcox Medical CenterConference Room B/C3-3420 Kuhio Hwy, Lihue, HI

Registration: HPH employees: Manager’s approval is required prior to registering AND register online through HPH Learning Center (HLC). Type in catalog: Advance Care Planning or POLST; Select course: HPH – Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives and Facilitator Certification

Non HPH participants: Register online or contact Michelle Cantillo, RN, HPH ACP Coordinator via email michelle.cantillo@hawaiipacifichealth.org.

Advance Care Planning
2025-05-20 12:00 - 16:00 | Hawaii
This class is offered for physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, clinical psychologists and other clinicians. It promotes ACP introductions and will review key elements and processes related to ACP, Advance Directives and POLST in the clinic.

Course Objectives:

Apply ACP resources to promote advance care planning discussions.

Promote patients’ knowledge of advance directives including healthcare power of attorney designation.

Identify the differences between an Advance Directive and Provider Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

and implement correct documentation of these documents.

Implement and standardize ACP processes.

Identify the Hawai‘i requirements of Medical Aid in Dying, Our Care, Our Choice Act.

Engage the multi-disciplinary team patient-centered discussion addressing advance care planning.

Tue May 2012:00-16:00First Insurance Center (FIC)Suite 970, Education Department1100 Ward Ave., Honolulu, HI 96813

Choose one afternoon to attend. Other dates: Wed, 8/13/2025, 1230–1630 or Tue, 11/4/2025 1200–1600

Registration: HPH Employees: Manager’s Approval is required prior to registering AND register online through the HPH Learning Center (HLC). Type in the Catalog: ACP; Select Course: HPH – Advance Care Planning (ACP) Class.

NonHPH participants: Register online: https://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/health-well ness/continuing-education/ or contact Michelle Cantillo, RN, HPH ACP Coordinator via email michelle.cantillo@hawaiipacifichealth.org. Any questions, call Michelle Cantillo at 808-535-7874.

Palliative Pupus (zoom) May 2025
2025-05-21 17:15 - 18:30 | Hawaii
We’d like to invite you to zoom only Palliative Pupus.

Our exciting local bi-monthly networking and clinical education opportunity on zoom. Come participate in an interactive interdisciplinary story from the cutting edge of hospice and palliative care and mingle with colleagues from all over the islands on zoom. If you are involved with palliative care cases, you are invited. Please tell your colleagues and friends.

At the May meeting we meet on zoom only, to include neighbor islands and others on zoom.

How does Palliative Pupus work?

The theme and presenters for each ‘Palliative Pupus’ is announced one to two weeks prior to the meeting date via our Kōkua Mau eNewsletter. If you are not receiving our eNewsletter yet, please subscribe here and we will keep you informed.

What is Palliative Pupus?

Our first successful Palliative Pupus meeting was held November 17, 2010 and has since become a bi-monthly event every third Wednesday of the month. (Except November due to Thanksgiving)

The model is an informal, interactive, collegial, pau hana to present and discuss challenging cases as a group. Palliative Pupus is for clinicians in a variety of fields: doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains.

Kokua Mau Meeting May 2025 Cancelled
2025-05-29 15:00 - 17:00 | Hawaii
No meetings in May and June 2025

Please join us for our Virtual Monthly Meeting on zoom, to learn, laugh, mingle and network. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for the most up-to-date information and zoom log-ins. A recording of many of our meetings are available on our YouTube channel, in case you might have missed it.

Last Thursday of the month* from 3 to 5 pm (on zoom)

Each month’s topic is announced in our eNewsletter

Each month we have updates about events in the community and one or more guest speakers.

*Please note that there are always months with five Thursdays. The meeting is on that last (5th) Thursday of that month (except November & December when we have a combined meeting after Thanksgiving).

Advance Care Planning (ACP), Advance Directives and Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Facilitator Training (June)
2025-06-17 08:00 - 16:30 | Hawaii

Cancelled: Palliative Pupus July 2025
2025-07-17 05:15 - 18:30 | Hawaii
We hope you are enjoying the summer. Unfortunately, we will need to cancel Palliative Pupus this coming Wednesday, July 16. The stars are not aligned this time so our apologies that we will NOT be meeting. Next Palliative Pupus will be on September 17.

Our exciting local bi-monthly networking and clinical education opportunity on zoom. Come participate in an interactive interdisciplinary story from the cutting edge of hospice and palliative care and mingle with colleagues from all over the islands on zoom. If you are involved with palliative care cases, you are invited. Please tell your colleagues and friends.

Advance Care Planning Aug 2025
2025-08-13 12:30 - 16:30 | Hawaii
This class is offered for physicians, nurses, social workers, pharmacists, clinical psychologists and other clinicians. It promotes ACP introductions and will review key elements and processes related to ACP, Advance Directives and POLST in the clinic.

Course Objectives:

Apply ACP resources to promote advance care planning discussions.

Promote patients’ knowledge of advance directives including healthcare power of attorney designation.

Identify the differences between an Advance Directive and Provider Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)

and implement correct documentation of these documents.

Implement and standardize ACP processes.

Identify the Hawai‘i requirements of Medical Aid in Dying, Our Care, Our Choice Act.

Engage the multi-disciplinary team patient-centered discussion addressing advance care planning.

Wednesday, 8/131230 – 1630First Insurance Center (FIC) Suite 970,Education Department 1100 Ward Ave., Honolulu, HI 96813

Registration: HPH Employees: Manager’s Approval is required prior to registering AND register online through the HPH Learning Center (HLC). Type in the Catalog: ACP; Select Course: HPH – Advance Care Planning (ACP) Class. Non HPH participants: Register online: https://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/health-wellness/continuing-education/ or contact Michelle Cantillo, RN, HPH ACP Coordinator via email michelle.cantillo@hawaiipacifichealth.org. Any questions, call Michelle Cantillo at 808-535-7874.

AARP Hawaii - I Wish I Had Known A Caregiver’s Story
2025-08-20 10:00 - 12:00 | Hawaii
Hope Young, Advanced Care Planning Coordinator, Kōkua Mauʻs own is part of a three person panel: “I Wish I Had Known … Getting Affairs in Order to Avoid Heartache: A Personal Caregiver Story“. This is an in person event.

Wed Aug 2010 AM to NoonHale Kōkua O Mānoa Adventist Community Center2655 Manoa Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822

Register on the AARP Hawaii website

Think you’re ready for a loved one’s passing? Learn from author Annette Kam’s story and get practical tips to ease the paperwork and planning before it’s too late.

Think you’re prepared for a loved one’s passing? The paperwork and details may surprise you. Join caregiver/author Annette Kam as she shares her story and offers essential tips to help you plan ahead—and ease the burden when the time comes. Hear from a local resource panel: Alan Gamble, President, Mits Aoki Legacy Foundation, Savvy Makalena, Founder & CEO, Gimme A Break, Hope Young, Advanced Care Planning Coordinator, Kōkua Mau.

Med-QUEST Community Palliative Care Benefit Overview For Social Workers
2025-08-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Hawaii
As part of the PEACE – Munch and Learn Series 2025 Promoting Engagement, Aloha, & Compassion in the Everyday Care the presenter is Torrie Fields, MPH, CEO, TFA Analytics Strategic Advisor to Hawaii DHS, Med-QUEST Division.

August 21, 2025 12:00 to 1:00 pm

Register for the zoom meeting

See flyer for for continuing education information

During this second PEACE session for 2025 we will explore the new Hawaii Medicaid Palliative Care Benefit, and the important role social workers play within the interdisciplinary palliative care team caring for people facing serious illness. Please join us to expand our understanding and awareness of these unique contributions that social workers make and how this is now being recognized as critically important by Med- QUEST.

Bereavement Network of Hawaii presents author of wait don't die yet
2025-08-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Hawaii
Presented by the Bereavement Network of Hawaii: Hawaii Author Annette Kam, RN “WAIT, DON’T DIE YET!”

A complete guide to all things no one really wants to think about (but everyone really needs to know) before, during, and after a loved one’s passing.

August 2812:00 PM to 1:00 PM

Register for the zoom meeting or use the QR code

Download the flyer for details about the author

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

All Kōkua Mau members are welcome to join in this meeting. The Bereavement Network Of Hawaii (BNOH) was founded to support people who are providing bereavement services to individuals and families in the Hawaii community through informational programs, networking and support, both on-line and in person throughout the year. A comprehensive list of agencies and individuals is posted and updated on our Kōkua Mau website.

Kokua Mau Monthly Meeting August 2025
2025-08-28 15:00 - 17:00 | Hawaii
Kate DeBartolo, The Conversation Project, Institute for Healthcare Improvement

My Health Checklist was developed by IHI and is a free guide for older adults that complements the Conversation Project’s other materials,which are widely used in Hawaii. Kate DeBartolo will introduce the tool to help people prepare for medical appointments and share with us lessons learned. The Health Checklist is also available in Chinese and Spanish.

Kate has done trainings in Hawaiʻi with us, before the pandemic, and is a long time supporter of Kōkua Mau and the work happening here in Hawaiʻi to support people who may be facing serious illness.

Visit the website to see this excellent and free resource: https://www.ihi.org/partner/initiatives/age-friendly-health-systems/my-health-checklist

My Health Checklist is designed to help older adults get the most out of their medical appointments. This guide helps you think through all aspects of your health — what’s going well, what could be better, and your questions or concerns. Being prepared means that you can make sure your appointment focuses on the things that matter most to you.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Please join us for our Virtual Monthly Meeting on zoom, to learn, laugh, mingle and network. Subscribe to our eNewsletter for the most up-to-date information and zoom log-ins. A recording of many of our meetings are available on our YouTube channel, in case you might have missed it.

Last Thursday of the month* from 3 to 5 pm (on zoom)

* Please note that there are months with five Thursdays. If this is the case, the meeting is on the 5th Thursday of that month (except November & December when we have a combined meeting after Thanksgiving).

Each month’s topic is announced in our eNewsletter

Let’s Talk Story about Advance Care Planning and How It Can Help Caregivers and Loved Ones
2025-09-06 10:00 - 12:00 | Catholic Charities Hawaii, 1822 Keʻeaumoku Street, Honolulu, Hawaii
10 a.m. to Noon Catholic Charities Hawaiʻi Community Hall1822 Keʻeaumoku Street in Makiki

Advance Registration is required

Parking instructions will be sent to registrants prior to the date

Download the flyer

Hope Young, Kōkua Mau’s own Advance Care Planning (ACP) Coordinator will conduct the 2 hour workshop. Hope will share:

How conversations about what matters most can support wishes for care

What is an Advance Health Care Directive and how it can support loved ones

What is a POLST (the green paper) and who needs one

Tips about Advance Care Planning with someone with dementia

Palliative Care – what is it? Who can benefit from it?

Discover how early hospice can support loved ones and offer the best care possible

For questions about the workshops or you need help registering, please contact Jody Mishan, (808) 295-2624 or jmishan@hawaii.rr.com

5th annual Shine A Light for Caregivers Celebration
2025-09-06 17:00 - 19:00 | Hawaii
Gimme A Break Hawaii invites you to Shine a light to support Caregivers with them at their 5th annual Shine A Light for Caregivers Celebration

Sept 6, 2025, from 5:00-7:00PMKapiolani Bandstand in Waikiki

Place your remembering leaf at the tree of light

Kumu Charlani Kalama and Hālau Ha’a Hula ‘O Kekau’ilani Na Pua Hala o Kailua

Special Sound Bowl by Calleigh Piper in remeberence of those lost!

The Yearly Shine A Light Celebration grows awareness for Caregivers! Currently 50% of all Caregivers in the United States will NOT survive their Career!

This year alone we lost many within our community! Many Caregivers become isolated and withdrawn, it’s as if they disappear into the darkness! As we “SHINE A LIGHT” for Caregivers, we show them that we see them and appreciate them and give them a light of hope and appreciation for all they do!

Per-order your remembering leaf here

Advance Care Planning (ACP), Advance Directives and Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Facilitator Training (Sept)
2025-09-15 08:00 - 16:30 | Hawaii
This training is offered for nurses, physicians, social workers, and other clinicians and focuses on communication skills to improve ACP discussions. The class will review key elements and processes related to ACP, advance directives and POLST development.

Course Objectives:

Apply advance care planning resources to promote advance care planning discussions.

Engage the multi-disciplinary team to patient-centered discussion addressing advance care planning.

Promote patients’ knowledge of advance directives, including healthcare Power of Attorney designation.

Implement correct documentation of Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)-Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR), full and limited treatment, time-limited trials and Comfort Care.

Promote correct process of ACP documents, access and utilization in your organization.

Identify end-of-life options including Hawai‘i’ requirements on Medical Aid in Dying, Our Care, Our Choice Act.

First Insurance Center (FIC), Education Department1100 Ward Ave, Honolulu, HI 96814

Choose one day to attend from 0800-1630

Download the flyer

Mon Sept 15, 2025, FIC 630

Registration: HPH employees: Manager’s approval is required prior to registering AND register online through HPH Learning Center (HLC). Type in catalog: Advance Care Planning or POLST; Select course: HPH – Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives and Facilitator Certification

Non HPH participants: Register online: https://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/health-wellness/continuing- education/. Any questions contact Michelle Cantillo, RN, HPH ACP Coordinator via email michelle.cantillo@hawaiipacifichealth.org.

Palliative Pupus (zoom) Sept 2025
2025-09-17 17:15 - 18:30 | Hawaii
We’d like to invite you to zoom only Palliative Pupus.

This month: Hospice Mauiʻs Interdisciplinary Team will be presenting a complex palliative care and hospice case involving a single mother of two young children who experienced a recurrence of aggressive metastatic breast cancer. The case was marked by challenging family dynamics, conflicting goals of care, and difficult-to-manage symptoms. Navigating care required creative problem-solving and full engagement of our interdisciplinary team to ensure compassionate, coordinated support for both the patient and her family.

Our exciting local bi-monthly networking and clinical education opportunity on zoom. Come participate in an interactive interdisciplinary story from the cutting edge of hospice and palliative care and mingle with colleagues from all over the islands on zoom. If you are involved with palliative care cases, you are invited. Please tell your colleagues and friends.

At the May meeting we meet on zoom only, to include neighbor islands and others on zoom.

How does Palliative Pupus work?

The theme and presenters for each ‘Palliative Pupus’ is announced one to two weeks prior to the meeting date via our Kōkua Mau eNewsletter. If you are not receiving our eNewsletter yet, please subscribe here and we will keep you informed.

What is Palliative Pupus?

Our first successful Palliative Pupus meeting was held November 17, 2010 and has since become a bi-monthly event every third Wednesday of the month. (Except November due to Thanksgiving)

The model is an informal, interactive, collegial, pau hana to present and discuss challenging cases as a group. Palliative Pupus is for clinicians in a variety of fields: doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains.

Kokua Mau Meeting Sept 2025
2025-09-25 12:00 - 13:30 | Hawaii
MyDirectives digital ACP solutions

Thur Sept 25 12 noon – 1:30pm

Please note that this month’s meeting starts at NOON since our speaker lives on the East Coast. Invite your colleagues who are interested in this possible solution for Hawaii.

High-quality digital advance care planning (ACP) enables patients’ voices to be heard across all points of care. When advance directives, mental health advance directives (MHADs), and portable medical orders (POLST) are accessible in real time, care teams can honor patient healthcare goals and preferences, reduce unnecessary and unwanted treatments, and lessen the emotional burden on families and clinicians

Here in Hawaii we continue to look for solutions to help make sure that documents can be found when they are needed. I reached out to MyDirectives as I have heard them present at national meetings AND they are interested in helping Hawaii succeed.

Please join us to hear from MyDirectives about their digital ACP solutions. They have a nationwide registry and work with each state to create comprehensive systems that allow the entire healthcare community – providers, health plans, first responders, state agencies, HIEs/HDUs, and quality organizations to access documents any where, any time. In Hawaiʻi, this approach can accelerate adoption of best practices, streamline deployment across care settings — including for EMS and fire teams providing care in the field — and deliver the reporting and analytics needed to measure impact on quality and cost.

Join Jessica Zan, Vice President of Clinical Integration at MyDirectives, to explore how Hawaiʻi can build a comprehensive ACP ecosystem that improves outcomes for patients, families, and the healthcare system as a whole.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Hawaiʻi ANA Lunch and Learn: Patients' Perceptions of Compassionate Nursing Care
2025-10-17 11:30 - 13:30 | Hawaii
You are invited to the HANA event: Hawaiʻi ANA Lunch and Learn:

Kōkua Mau’ own Dr. Pat Nishimoto will present on the Perception of Compassionate Nursing Care by Oncology Patients. This event offers 1.5 contact hours to attendees.

Fri Oct1711:30am – 1:30 HST

Location: Mangiamo by 604943 Valkenburgh Street (Mauka of the airport)Honolulu, HI, 9681

Register to attend on their website (registration includes lunch)

Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End of Life Care-(ESPEC)
2025-10-30 12:00 - 13:00 | Hawaii
With Shirley Otis-Green, LCSW, OSW-CE, FNAP, FAOSW Founder and Consultant of Collaborative Caring and Myra Glajchen, DSW, MSW, BSW, ACSW, APHSW-C, Director of Education and Training.

Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/PB-wz2XURe2HpxNiIg4jPQ This session is free.

Shirley Otis-Green, (https://www.collaborativecaring.net/about) is an internationally recognized social work expert in palliative care and is the author/editor of numerous articles and books including The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work, 2E. She will be presenting an introduction to a state-of-the-art training program called Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End of Life Care-(ESPEC).

Myra Glajchen, (https://www.mjhspalliativeinstitute.org/the-staff/) is an internationally recognized leader in palliative and oncology social work with a distinguished teaching and research portfolio. She is Project Director for Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC), which has trained over 850 social workers.

Hui Pohala is now collaborating with her to make the ESPEC training program available for all Hawai`i social workers, especially for those social workers working with people who are seriously ill and their families. Plans include in-person training on all of the neighbor islands and Oahu. Please register and attend this session to learn more about this exciting career enhancing opportunity.

Download flier for details and CEU

Celebrate 25 years of Kokua Mau with us
2025-11-01 11:00 - 13:00 | Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Av., Honolulu, HI, 96826, United States
November 1, 202511am – 1pmChurch of the Crossroads

RSVP at: https://forms.gle/YTMH7558tn1sw7dVA

Please save the date and come and celebrate 25 years of Kōkua Mau with your friends and colleagues. This will be a unique opportunity to talk story, catch up with people and appreciate the amazing coalition that is Kōkua Mau. This will be a potluck and open to everyone in Kōkua Mau. Families and friends are welcome.

There will be crafts, food, music, a photo booth AND momentos from the last 25 years. Please bring any photos to share

Interested in helping us make this happen? Please let Jeannette know if you would like to be on the work group.

9th Annual HPGS Tony Lenzer Scholarship Fundraiser's honoree is Jeannette Koijane
2025-11-14 17:30 - 19:30 | Arcadia Retirement Residence, 1434 Punahou St, Honolulu, 96822
Jeannette is this year’s honoree of the HPGS Tony Lenzer Scholarship Fundraiser because of her commitment since 1988 to serving those who need serious illness care. Since 2010, Jeannette has been the Executive Director of Kōkua Mau, which was established in 1999 as a statewide network to lead the movement to improve care for everyone.

Please join us in person at HGPS’ Annual HPGS Tony Lenzer Scholarship Fundraiser in honoring our very own Executive Director Jeannette Koijane.

Fri Nov 14 5:30pm Reception at Arcadia with Pupu & Wine

Please download the flyer and registration form to register or online at HPGS

Proceeds of this years HGPS fundraiser will go to support the HPGS annual Tony Lenzer Scholarship program for students with a serious interest in professional work related to aging, long term care and/or death and dying.

Palliative Pupus November
2025-11-19 17:15 - 18:30 | Hawaii
Please join us on in person and on zoom. This month: Join us for a case about a 79 yo male with malignant melanoma with medical, social, and family dynamics that we had to navigate. He also lived on a boat.

At the November meeting we also meet in person at the QCC, offering a hybrid format, to include neighbor islands and others on zoom. If you join us at the in person meetings you will enjoy actual pupus.

The Queens Conference Center (QCC) – Room 200510 S. Beretania StreetHonolulu, HI 96813

Please join us bi-monthly on the:

Palliative Pupus meets in Room 200 on the second floor of the Queen’s Conference Center

Park for free at the municipal Civic Center parking lot on South Beretania after 4 PM (see map below)

Park in the Queen’s Miller parking lot for validated parking (pricey without the sticker). See map.

Across the street at the DOH now has a two hour maximum enforced 24 hours (gone are the good old days).

More on parking near QCC

How does Palliative Pupus work?

The theme and presenters for each ‘Palliative Pupus’ is announced one to two weeks prior to the meeting date via our Kōkua Mau eNewsletter. If you are not receiving our eNewsletter yet, please subscribe here and we will keep you informed.

Let’s Talk Story About Grieving During The Holidays
2025-11-20 17:00 - 18:30 | Hawaii
Please join the Bereavement Network of Hawaii (BNOH) and the Mits Aoki Legacy Foundation for an informal presentation, exploring grieving during the holidays and learn some helpful coping tips to make it through the next few weeks. All are welcome. Please feel free to share with others and ask them to register.

This time of year is especially difficult for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. For many there is not a “Happy Holidays”, “Happy Thanksgiving”, “Merry Christmas”, or a “Happy Hanukkah”. Often there is sadness, wanting to be alone, and to be separate from others who don’t understand our grief. There is often a void and deep longing for those who have died or who we have lost to an illness such as dementia.

The feelings that arise are sometimes complex and unpredictable and at the same time uniquely our own. One certainly does not want to “celebrate” the holidays without their loved one. Things just aren’t the same anymore. You are not alone. Others are also experiencing grief and loss. Please join them as they explore some helpful coping tools.

Thur Nov 20, 20255:00 PM to 6:30 PM

Meet on Zoom. To register: Click Here

Download the flyer

Kokua Mau Meeting with Cindy Roat Working with Medical Interpreters
2025-12-04 15:00 - 17:00 | Hawaii
Working with Medical Interpreters

On December 4, join national expert Cynthia Roat for a down-to-earth presentation on your options for bridging the communication gap across languages, considerations for choosing your best option, and concrete steps for working effectively with an interpreter.

Bring your questions and frustrations for this engaging session with one of the country’s leading authorities on language access in health care. Please send your questions ahead of time.

Thur Dec 43-4:30pm

Cindy Roat will be our special guest for this meeting. She is an international consultant and trainer on language access in health care with 30+ years’ experience in the healthcare interpreting field. With an MPH in International Health Services, Cindy has made significant contributions to the language access field in the areas of training, program development, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational outreach.

Cindy will also be the trainer for our Kōkua Mau and HITA proudly presents workshops on zoom: Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness: Interpreting in Palliative Care later in the month. See our website for details or download the flyer.

Register in advance for this meeting

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness Interpreting in Palliative Care
2025-12-06 09:00 - 12:30 | Hawaii
Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness: Interpreting in Palliative Care

Palliative Care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life and relieving physical and emotional suffering for people who are experiencing a serious illness. Since palliative care depends on regular, clear communication between patients, providers, and families, interpreters are key members of any palliative care team. For interpreters, conversations involving palliative care, especially those at the end of life, can be among the most difficult to convey — not only linguistically and culturally, but personally.

Saturday, December 6 and 13, 20259:00 – 12:30 Hawaii timeParticipants must attend both classes

This interactive seven-hour workshop is designed to prepare experienced, trained medical interpreters to work in palliative care settings in Hawaiʻi. It includes:

An Introduction to Palliative Care

Interpreting Skills Applied to Palliative Care

The Vocabulary of Palliative Care

Sight Translation in Palliative Care

The Impact of Emotion and Belief on Interpreting

7 CEUs (details in flyer)

This multimedia, interactive training includes videos, PowerPoint presentations, and practice of interpreting and sight translation. Bilingual medical glossaries and practice activities are provided in Cantonese/traditional Chinese, Ilocano, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin/simplified Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Who is teaching? Cindy Roat is an international consultant and trainer on language access in health care with 30+ years’ experience in the healthcare interpreting field. With an MPH in International Health Services, Cindy has made significant contributions to the language access field in the areas of training, program development, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational outreach. Her written works are key resources for interpreters, providers and administrators alike. Cindy was the principal author of the original Bridging the Gap, and her most recent book, Healthcare Interpreting in Small Bites, is being used as an ancillary text at many basic training programs. Cindy is a founder and current board member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), as well as being known nationally as an engaging speaker, a knowledgeable resource, and an energetic advocate for language access in general.

Download the flyer to register and more details

Where: Online through Zoom

Cost: $50 + credit card processing fees. Thanks to a grant we can offer this training at a reduced rate.

REGISTER HERE before 5:00 p.m. on December 1.

Please note: space in this workshop is limited to the first 25 applicants. Participants must have access to a computer, internet access and a quiet place to do the training. Please submit a separate registration form for each person registering.After registering, you will receive an email confirmation; if you do not receive a confirmation, your registration did not go through.

Scholarships: There are full scholarships available for participants from The Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau. Complete the application and we will let you know if you have qualified for the scholarship.

Interpreting in Palliative Care Part 2
2025-12-13 09:00 - 12:30 | Hawaii

Advance Care Planning for Healthcare Professionals Virtual Class
2026-01-21 12:00 - 14:00 | Hawaii
This virtual class is offered for physicians, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals to promote ACP discussions and will review key elements and processes related to ACP, Advance Directives and POLST.

Course Objectives:

Apply advance care planning resources to promote advance care planning discussions.

Identify the differences between the advance directive and Provider Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) and implement correct documentation of these documents.

Engage the multi-disciplinary team patient-centered discussion addressing advance care planning.

Wednesday, January 21, 202612:00 – 2:00 p.m.Zoom

Registration

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email after approval. Any questions please contact Michelle Cantillo, RN, HPH ACP Coordinator at 808-535-7874 or via email michelle.cantillo@hawaiipacifichealth.org.

Download the flyer for CE information

Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness - Interpreting in Palliative Care
2026-01-22 09:00 - 17:00 | Hawaii
Palliative Care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life and relieving physical and emotional suffering for people who are experiencing a serious illness. Since palliative care depends on regular, clear communication between patients, providers, and families, interpreters are key members of any palliative care team.

For interpreters, conversations involving palliative care, especially those at the end of life, can be among the most difficult to convey — not only linguistically and culturally, but personally. This is a unique opportunity for Hawaiʻi, don’t miss it.

This interactive seven-hour in-person workshop is designed to prepare experienced, trained medical interpreters to work in palliative care settings in Hawaiʻi. It includes:

An Introduction to Palliative Care

Interpreting Skills Applied to Palliative Care

The Vocabulary of Palliative Care

Sight Translation in Palliative Care

The Impact of Emotion and Belief on Interpreting

7 CEUs (details on flyer page 2)

This multimedia, interactive training includes videos, PowerPoint presentations, and practice of interpreting and sight translation. Bilingual medical glossaries and practice activities are provided in Cantonese/traditional Chinese, Chuukese, Ilocano, Japanese, Korean, Kosraean, Mandarin/simplified Chinese, Marshallese, Pohnpeian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Who is teaching? Cindy Roat is an international consultant and trainer on language access in health care with 30+ years’ experience in the healthcare interpreting field. With an MPH in International Health Services, Cindy has made significant contributions to the language access field in the areas of training, program development, policy formulation, advocacy and organizational outreach. Her written works are key resources for interpreters, providers and administrators alike. Cindy was the principal author of the original Bridging the Gap, and her most recent book, Healthcare Interpreting in Small Bites, is being used as an ancillary text at many basic training programs. Cindy is a founder and current board member of the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC), as well as being known nationally as an engaging speaker, a knowledgeable resource, and an energetic advocate for language access in general.

Download and share the flyer

Thursday, January 22, 20269:00 am to 5:00 PM

Where In-Person

Cost $50 Thanks to a grant we can offer this training at a reduced rate.

Registration REGISTER before 5:00 p.m. on January 14, 2026.

Please note: space in this workshop is limited to the first 25 applicants.

Please submit a separate registration form for each person registering.

After registering, you will receive an email confirmation; if you do not receive a confirmation, your registration did not go through.Lunch provided for registered participants

Scholarships: There are full scholarships available for participants from The Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Republic of Palau. A dedicated COFA languages workshop for Chuukese, Kosraean, Marshallese and Pohnpeian is offered Sat. Jan 24. Complete the application and we will let you know if you have qualified for the scholarship.

CE credits: This course has been approved for 7 CE credits by CCHI and .7 for (IMIA) NBCMI. Certificates of Attendance will be awarded to all who arrive on time and stay for the entire workshop.

This is the first time we offer this in-person training in Hawaiʻi so please join us and tell your colleagues. This training is supported by grants from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Fund for Heath Equity and the Hawaii Association for Health Plans.

Palliative Care is available in different settings in Hawaiʻi, including hospitals and in-home settings. There is a new Med-QUEST palliative care benefit in Hawaiʻi so there should be an increased need for palliative care interpretation.

To learn more about Palliative Care, and our multi-lingual resources in 13 languages, visit the Kōkua Mau website: https://kokuamau.org/palliative-care-for-patients-and-families/

Day 1 COFA Languages for Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness
2026-01-23 09:00 - 17:00 | Hawaii
Palliative Care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life and relieving physical and emotional suffering for people who are experiencing a serious illness. Since palliative care depends on regular, clear communication between patients, providers, and families, interpreters are key members of any palliative care team. Nationally recognized interpreter trainer Cindy Roat from Seattle, WA will be leading both 7-hour classes. This is a unique opportunity for Hawaiʻi, don’t miss it.

Day 1- Friday, January 23, 20269 am to 5 PM

Are you a speaker of COFA languages interested in taking the first steps toward becoming a professional interpreter? This one-day in-person workshop is for you. Day 1 covers tailor made training in:

The role of the COFA languages interpreter in health care settings in Hawaiʻi

Ethics and standards of practice for interpreters

What to do when “there is no word for that” in your language?

Message analysis and conversion

Next steps to becoming a professional interpreter and get paid for your skills

This interactive class will include presentations, video, role-plays, discussion and language-specific practice guided by a language coach who speaks your language pair.

Requirements: To participate in this once-only opportunity, candidates need to:

Speak English and one (or more) of the following languages fluently: Marshallese, Kosraean, Pohnpeian, Chuukese.

Be available to participate on-site at the training venue in Honolulu from 9:00 to 5:00 on Friday, January 23rd.

Have an interest in serving as an interpreter for their communities in health care settings.

Lunch will be provided to registered participants

Registration Apply and REGISTER before 5:00 p.m. on January 14, 2026.

Download the flyer (Day 1 and Day 2)

This is the first time we offer this in-person training in Hawaiʻi so please join us and tell your colleagues. This training is supported by grants from the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation’s Fund for Heath Equity and the Hawaii Association for Health Plans.

Palliative Care is available in different settings in Hawaiʻi, including hospitals and in-home settings. There is a new Med-QUEST palliative care benefit in Hawaiʻi so there should be an increased need for palliative care interpretation, as it gets implemented.

To learn more about Palliative Care, and our multi-lingual resources in 13 languages visit the Kōkua Mau website: https://kokuamau.org/palliative-care-for-patients-and-families/
