Please join us for our Kōkua Mau Monthly Meeting on the:
Last Thursday of the month* from 3 PM to 5 PM.
- Each month we have updates about events in the community and one or more guest speakers.
- Meetings are open to all.
- Parking is validated. (See map at bottom of page.)
- Each month’s topic is announced in our eNewsletter.
The Weinberg Building is at the Diamond Head side of the campus, the only building facing Liliha Street. Take the elevator in the lobby to the second floor Conference Room. Please allow some time to navigate the parking structure.
NEW: We have set up a conference call for those who are unable to participate in person. Conference Dial-in Number (712) 775-7100; Participant Access Code 1079885#.
Please let us know ASAP if you will be calling in so we can get you the slides. We will most likely NOT be available to send you the slides on the day of the meeting.
* 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).
Examples of past Kōkua Mau Meeting agendas:
Agenda for February 2017
Join us on Feb. 23 from 3-5pm at the Kōkua Mau monthly meeting when the topic will be Health Care Decisions Day and different ways you can use this national event to get conversations going in your facility and agency and in our community. Although the actual date in April 16, we encourage people to think about any date or dates around that time that work for you. You can also visit their website.
Agenda from December 3, 2015
Dr. Ritabelle Fernandes and Jody Mishan will be presenting about the new grant the UH Center on Aging has received on dementia and be asking for our feedback.
Additionally we will have a presentation on the Kaiser Permanente SWITCH program.
Presenters: Aleza Matayoshi, MD, Continuing Care Physician, Medical Director; Medicare
Walt Schroeder, Pharm.D., BCPS, Director; Transition and Senior Care Strategy
SWITCH (Social Wellbeings’ Impact To Care & Health) is a care delivery movement to prioritize member preferences in medical care delivery. The work centers around “knowing the member first and treating them second.” Social Work Navigators are paired with frail, elderly members to learn about their priorities for care and what matters most to them. Navigators facilitate interdisciplinary team discussions with the member’s primary care physician, nurse, pharmacist, and home health representatives to develop a comprehensive social and medical treatment plan. This work also involves collaborating with community resources to transform the way healthcare partners with the community to support member wellness.
Agenda for January 29, 2015
Teacher Bob Kane and several Iolani students will be presenting about their hospice class, an elective for seniors which trains them as hospice volunteers to work with people in the final days of life.
We will have students attending to take questions and share their experiences to date. Francesca Pennino (Harley School Class of 2005) about the program: “Hospice class has taken the darkness, the invisibility of death away. It has allowed me to look at death as a part of every being’s life and to see how beautiful it can, and should be for every person. The program has allowed me to see the insurmountable importance of dying with dignity and has shown me how so many going through the dying process are not given this care. The program has ignited in me an inextinguishable fire to help others, a passion that I cannot ever put into words nor will ever be satisfied. I am continually restless with the desire to reach out to others. The hospice program has truly opened my eyes to the incredible simplicity of doing just this. While big changes in the world may not come quickly, small changes are what bring us there, whether it be sitting with a dying woman, or holding a hand.”
Learn more about the upcoming e-book available with the film release.
Agenda for December 4, 2014
Agenda for March 27, 2014
This month Kōkua Mau’s own Jeannette Koijane, will be presenting about the POLST training she recently completed in California. Jeannette will be going through the 7 module curriculum and some new handouts to improve POLST conversations. We will also be having updates on our activities including plans for a community wide effort to increase conversations on Advance Care Planning.
Agenda for Sept. 16, 12013
This month Dr. Sheldon Riklon and Dr. Lauren Okamoto will be presenting on their research on Marshall Islanders’ attitudes towards death and dying. Dr. Riklon is Marshallese physician who currently practices in Hawaii but worked for many years in the Marshall Islands. Both presenters currently work at JABSOM and are caring for Marshallese patients. The results are very interesting and will hopefully provide some insights for those of you working with Marshallese people. The presentation will include background information about the Marshall Islands (in case you didn’t know who to ask.)
Jeannette Koijane will present (including pictures) about the palliative care training she and Pat Nishimoto did in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in July 2013.
Agenda for August 29, 2013
Our speaker will be our own Kokua Mau board member Dr. Anna Loengard, Chief Medical Office of St. Francis Healthcare Systems. Anna will be talking about (and showing drawings) of the plans for the facilities on Liliha. Dr. Loengard will also be talking about a CMMI (Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation) grant that they recently submitted on care for people with dementia. They are proposing a very innovative model for improved care that would be filling an important niche. There will also be a chance for other updates and lively discussion (as always.)
Agenda for Sept. 27, 2012
In the next meeting the Pain and Palliative Care Program team from Queen’s Medical Center will be presenting about their different programs and initiatives to improve care in their facility. We will also be discussing how POLST is being integrated in EMR systems (PDF or not) and the importance of advance directives in light of the high profile case in the media.
Agenda for the Thur. June 28, 2012
Meeting: Come and join us at the next Kokua Mau meeting. Kokua Mau member and local author Lani Leary, PhD will be presenting about her work at our next meeting. She will share with us her recently published book: No One Has To Die Alone – Preparing for a Meaningful Death. Lani is a psychotherapist and professor of death studies. She has written an extraordinarily clear-eyed and helpful guide for those who must care for a dying loved one, an almost unavoidable and challenging situation. Come and learn more. All are welcome.
Agenda for October 25, 2012
At the next Kōkua Mau meeting, we will be discussing the upcoming presentation by Dr. Angelo Volandes as well as updates of activities.
Additionally we will have a special guest presenting: Rev. John Lunn, RN is a visiting consultant in palliative care in India and Africa. He spent nearly 7 years in India and 3 years in Liberia. His new assignment will be in Tanzania.
Before he embarks on his new journey, from the 1st week of October. He will spend three months in Honolulu.
Agenda for the May 31, 2012 Meeting:
Deborah J. Whisnand, Executive Director of Pacific Health Ministry will present at this month’s meeting. Welcome Pacific Health Ministry our newest Kokua Mau Member! Pacific Health Ministry is a spiritual service agency founded in 1986 by the religious and health care communities to provide spiritual care and education in health care institutions and the general community. PHM utilizes the unique multi-cultural content of Hawaii as a means of understanding ministry. PHM provides the spiritual care services and Professional Chaplains at twelve of Hawaii’s major residential and health care institutions. As the only organization in Hawaii accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, PHM trains clergy and qualified laypersons. Clinical Pastoral Education teaches Ministry Formation, Spiritual Care, Crisis Counseling and Institutional Ministry Practice for persons pursuing certification as Professional Chaplains.
January 2012 Monthly meeting:
John Grant from the Executive Office on Aging presented about the Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) including the program to reduce hospital readmissions.
Elizabeth Bethea, County Executive on Aging, Elderly Affairs Division, joined us as well to talk about her experiences with this program. This is a new resource that will hopefully be of benefit to those you care for.
Anna Loengard presented about developing a business model for integrating palliative care through/across systems which is relevant as St. Francis expands their service this year. This is in preparation for a national presentation she will be making.