Originally from Southern California, Katherine received her master’s degree in health care administration from Georgetown University. She began her career in nursing as an oncology nurse at St. John’s Hospital and Health Center in Santa Monica, California. She worked for many years as a leader for various healthcare organizations including 10 years in Washington, D.C., with a national healthcare trade association advocating for changes in Medicare policy. She has lived in Hawaii since 2006 and enjoys ocean swimming and SCUBA diving.

JABSOM Grand Rounds with Susan M. Christensen, MD, Geriatric Medicine Fellow

Monday Aug 8, 2022

Register here to get the zoom link

Learning Objectives. Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

Intended Audiences: Physicians, nurses, and other allied health staff who provide care for geriatric patients.

Join us August 25 at for a presentation by Louise Tanswell (Ellie) RN LMT CLT-LANA and Rocky Lee, Breast Cancer Survivor from LymphaCare Hawaii.

LymphaCare Hawaii advocates for cancer survivors who develop lymphedema (LE). These survivors are often “the forgotten ones” who suffer in silence, because their medical team is not taking their symptoms seriously. Join us to take a closer look at the problem and how LymphaCare is taking action to help!

In 2017, Ellie found her niche and became a Certified Lymphedema Therapist. Ellie’s passion has always been symptom management, and in 2021 she founded LymphaCare Hawaii, to help low income families access specialist LE care.

Rochelle "Rocky" Lee born and raised in Hawaii Recently retired after 36 years of service at The Queen's Medical Center in the position of Manager for the Women's Health Center. A 5 year breast cancer survivor dealing with post treatment issues such as lymphedema in her right arm and having to follow a regimented program to keep her lymphedema controlled.

Ellie will also share about the the St. Christopher's London CARE house, which provides comprehensive palliative care services to patients. She feels that it would be a valuable model for Hawaii.

3:00-5 PM

Register in advance for the monthly meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the zoom meeting.

If you have announcements to share, please let Jeannette know!!

Healthcare in Hawaii paints a bleak picture. Our partners on Hawai‘i Island, Community First, shared the results of their statewide survey on Healthcare from nearly 3,300 Hawai‘i residents, along with input from more than 300 health care providers statewide in April and May. You can read the full report here https://communityfirsthawaii.org/access-to-care/. (Scroll down on the page for a summary and a complete report.)

The link to a Civil Beat Article on the findings: Survey: Doctor Shortages Lead To Health Care Delays In Hawaii.

If you are a social worker or other health care provider please help out and take this 2-minute Care Coordination Education Needs Assessment Survey. 

Integrated Health Hawaii (IHH) is conducting this needs assessment to determine if social workers or healthcare workers would like a CE program for Care Coordination.

Kapiʻolani Community College is looking for instructors for their CNA classes. Requirements: RN for at least 2 years and Long Term Care background for at least 1 year. Contact Martin Chong, Health Education Program Coordinator at martincs@hawaii.edu or 808-734-9540.

Thank You supporters and members for keeping Kōkua Mau strong and serving our community. Since 1999, Kōkua Mau has been a voice for outstanding care and services in Hawaiʻi supporting those with serious illness, their loved ones and those who care for them.

Now is a great time in 2022 to renew your membership or join Kōkua Mau as a first-time member. Your support is what makes Kōkua Mau possible. We thank you for being part of our movement to improve care. Wondering when your membership runs out? Just send Jeannette an email and she can let you know.

Membership of individuals and organizations empower us to do our work. Your financial support is crucial: we raise every penny we spend (with your help). Our Organizational and Individual members supporting us are listed on our website.

5 easy options to support us

We have a rolling membership system so if you join now, your membership will last for the next 12 months. Click here for membership levels

Registration is now live for the 2022 hybrid Hawaii Health Workforce Summit: Creating lasting solutions - Effecting real change

Registration is now open. More information on their website

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.

Since, July 16th people in mental health crisis will have a new way to reach out for help. Instead of dialing the current 10-digit National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, they can simply call or text the numbers 9-8-8.

Modeled after 911, the new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional.

Users who dial 988 from the 808 area code will reach the Hawaii Department of Health’s Hawaii CARES (website not updated yet) crisis helpline, with access to crisis services, including suicide prevention, mental and emotional health support and substance abuse support. (People who call 988 from other area codes will be connected with a crisis center in another state.)

The Funeral Service Foundation and the Collaborative of National Pediatric Care Coalitions worked together to create “When a Child Dies: Planning Acts of Love and Legacy.”

The booklet is the outgrowth of a multi-year project that begun in 2018. “The booklet offers guidance and inspiration to help these families who experience the death of their child say goodbye in a way that is meaningful and important to their path forward.” In May, there was a webinar on ways to use the booklet.

Links are to order the booklet and the free webinar on its use. Watch the recording.

AMA’s Moving Medicine has a series of videos that “highlight developments and achievements throughout medicine.” The 16 minute video (and transcript) “End-of-life care considerations for LGBTQ older adults with Carey Candrian, PhD” was recently placed online and is available at the link.droppable-1658952009789

Our own Dr. Daniel Fischberg did an excellent talk on Prognostication for the Geriatric ECHO series at JABSOM. Click on ECHO Recordings to watch the presentation.

Dr. Fischberg is the Medical Director, Pain & Palliative Care Department, The Queen’s Medical Center; Chief, Division of Palliative Medicine; and Professor, Department of Geriatric Medicine, JABSOM. He is currently the Board President of Kōkua Mau.

On the July 7 NHPCO/AAHPM Diversity, Equity and Inclusion webinar (see below), there were some excellent resources shared. We have looked at some but not all so welcome your feedback on what we should list on our website and share with the coalition.

DEI Resources from American Academy for Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), including practical strategies, opinions and perspectives and a resource portal DEI Resources | AAHPM

Diversity resources from National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO.) This includes the Inclusion and Access Toolkits and several specialized outreach guides Diversity | NHPCO

As part of Oncology Nursing Society's (ONA) 'Storytelling: What Keeps Us Going' series Kōkua Mau's own Dr. Pat Nishimoto tells her amazing story Mrs. Jones Gave Me the ‘Ah-Ha’ Moment That Guided My Entire Nursing Career

June was Pride Month, a time to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community’s voices, culture, and civil rights. In honor of Pride, GetPalliativeCare.org spoke with Dr. Noelle Marie Javier, who is a palliative care doctor and a woman of transgender experience. She works with patients every day who are living with serious illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.

In GetPalliativeCare.org's conversation with Dr. Javier, she shared a few things that people who identify as LGBTQ+ may want to keep in mind when visiting a palliative care doctor (or any other doctor, really!). Read the full interview.

This special presentation is a partnership of Kokua Mau and the Quality of Life committee of the Cancer Coalition to help 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. Recording available.

Presenters:

This session helps people learn about what palliative care is, who the team is, and what services are included. We will also cover the difference between palliative care and hospice, where to get palliative care and what else is happening with palliative care in Hawaii.

A moving caretaker’ testimony about Andrea Bacos and her husband’s cancer journey and palliative care on our YouTube channel. Living on Maui she talks story how they accessed palliative care in Honolulu and at home.

The Department of Health, Executive Office on Aging (EOA) is requesting your assistance and participation with two surveys to help us assess needs in the community. The findings will shape and improve Hawaii’s programs and services to meet the needs of Hawaii’s older adults, persons with disabilities, and their caregivers.

EOA developed two (2) separate surveys to assess the needs of Hawaii older adults and/or persons with disabilities and Hawaii’s caregivers. The first survey entitled, “Aging in Hawaii” looks at issues faced by you, our kūpuna, and tomorrow’s older adults. The second survey looks at issues faced by Hawaii’s caregivers.

Responses to all the surveys are strictly confidential, voluntary, and anonymous. The information will help identify needs in our communities and shape the development of our State Plan on Aging. Each survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete.

To access the survey for Aging in Hawaii, please click on the following link:

To access the Hawaii survey for caregivers, please click on the following link:

Are you getting this great free resource? Published every Friday by the Palliative Care Network of Wisconsin “Palliative Care Fast Facts" are edited by Sean Marks, MD; Associate Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

With over 500 entries, they can be read on the web or downloaded as a PDF file, covering a wide range of topics including "How to help a patient choose a surrogate decision maker".

Other topics include:pain, non-pain symptoms, communication, prognosis, hospice, Palliative Care consultation, etc. You can see a complete listing and/or sign up at https://www.mypcnow.org/fast-facts/

This support group is specifically for loved ones of those who have chosen Medical Aid in Dying in Hawai‘i. Facilitated by Leilani Maxera, LCSW and Joy Rodriguez, End of Life Doula.

Every fourth Sunday of the month

6PM over zoom (please note new 6 PM time)

Zoom from anywhere into a space held to process feelings created by the unique experience of walking beside someone who utilized Hawai‘i’s Our Care, Our Choice Act.

To register please email joydrodriguez@yahoo.com or call (808) 853-0621

Heavily Yours is a free online support group for people working with the dying and the dead. We will be gathering monthly

4pm HST

All folks in deathcare are welcome! This means you, death doulas, funeral directors, hospice volunteers, palliative care folks, caretakers, etc. It is open to both medical and non-medical professionals, community workers, and volunteers.

You can reserve a spot at http://bitly.ws/rpYm. This support space is a collaboration between A Sacred Passing (Seattle) & Kaipuokaualoku (Honolulu).

Announcing the forthcoming publication of "Oxford textbook on palliative social work", second edition. Co-edited by UH alum and Kōkua Mau member Shirley Otis-Green. It features a chapter on Palliative Care, social work and the Pacific Basin by Yvonne Duhaylongsod Yim, PhD, LCSW (NASW-HI Chapter President), Luana Yoshikawa Scanlan, MBA of the American Samoan Cancer Community Coalition, and Prof. Lana Sue I Kaʻopua, PhD, DCSW, LSW. There are discounts for those who purchase the book early and you can find it via Shirley's website http://collaborativecaring.net/resources Congratulations!!

Please note: We post positions and career opportunities that have been submitted to us by our members, with the request to share them in our network, on our website and our newsletter.

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Hawai‘i Care Choices in Hilo, Hawai‘i is seeking a variety of experienced and compassionate professionals to provide the highest quality care and support for our patients and their loved ones. They offer an arry of benefits, a supportive work environment and seek to maintain an organizational culture that inspires and engages employees.

The California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) released "Essential Skills and Supports for All Clinicians Treating Serious Illness: Building Generalist Palliative Care Capabilities Across Services and Settings." This resource center captures key learnings from CHCF's two-phase initiative with California public health care systems to assess needs, plan, pilot, and evaluate generalist palliative care interventions in a variety of services lines (e.g., primary care, oncology, cardiology, emergency department, trauma surgery, and more.)

The resource center includes project profiles for each of the 9 public health care systems that participated in the implementation phase, with specifics of what they did, how they did it, and what they learned.

In case you missed our meetings or reports from 2020-22, we add new videos our YouTube channel: