Bernadette Roberts and her daughters, Pua Carriaga, Puna Azevedo and Pomai Roberts complete their Advance Health Care Directives with the help of Community First volunteer Patty Bourke.
ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE
Talking about your end-of-life care now makes the transition smoother when the time comes.
Letting your end-of-life wishes be known in an Advance Health Care Directive allows your family to focus on happy memories instead of stressful decisions.
An Advance Health Care Directive is something that every adult, regardless of health status, should prepare and share with family members, loved ones and the doctor. It is a legal document that allows you to choose someone that your doctor will be able to consult regarding medical treatments that you would—or would not—want if you are unable to speak for yourself. If you do not have an Advance Health Care Directive, the hospital will call together all interested persons that they can locate, then the group will select one person, called a non-patient surrogate, to be the decision maker.
Community First is working to educate every Hawaiʻi Island resident over the age of 18 on the importance of having these sensitive but important conversations with their loved ones, and the importance of having an Advance Health Care Directive.
Workshops
Community First sponsors workshops to help people complete their AHCD. The choices regarding end-of-life care are for each individual to decide. Our mission is to provide an understanding of the choices and to have individuals document those choices. We also stress the importance of having a conversation about your choices with your family. It’s an important gift to your loved ones so that they won’t have to guess what you want or do not want if you are no longer able to speak for yourself.
Let us help you complete an Advance Health Care Directive that documents who you want to speak for you as well as your end-of-life wishes. It’s free and doesn’t require an attorney. We will provide a step by step explanation on how to complete your Advance Health Care Directive. If you already have a Living Will, a Health Care Power of Attorney, or an Advance Health Care Directive, you’ll learn how to review it to be sure it meets your needs today.
Advance Health Care Directive Workshop Schedule
Register for an Upcoming Advance Health Care Directive Workshop
If you are unable to participate in any of the scheduled workshops or if you do not have access to the internet or Zoom, please register anyway and we will contact and assist you. We also have presentations recorded for your convenience.
For more information or questions about workshops, please contact:
Amy Hamane / afhamane@gmail.com / (808) 443-4033
Rosemary Burnett / pohakulei@gmail.com / (808) 987-4405
Tony Kent / anthonykent00@gmail.com / (808) 292-4559
Content presented and discussed during Community First Advance Health Care Directive workshops are not intended to serve as legal or medical advice.
Resources
These resources include Hawaiʻi’s Advance Health Care Directive form and materials to assist you in completing the form. You will be able to access these materials by clicking on them. Feel free to print them.
Hawaiʻi Advance Healthcare Directive Form
Completing Your Advance Health Care Directive
Kokua Mau has translated the Advance Health Care Directive into the following languages: Chinese, Ilocano, Japanese, Korean, Marshallese, Spanish, Tagalog, Tongan and Vietnamese. Download those forms at kokuamau.org.
Organizations
These organizations offer additional resources and assistance to those completing Advance Health Care Directives.
Kōkua Mau is a Hawai’i-based non-profit that offers comprehensive information on Advance Care Planning, Healthcare Navigation, Caregiving, and POLST information, and a Speaker’s Bureau on these topics.
Kōkua Mau’s mission is: to weave a lei of caregiving and support so that the people of Hawai‘i facing serious illness can live in the place of their choice, with relief of pain and suffering and according to their values, beliefs and traditions.
20 University Road
7th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02138
617-301-4868
Email: Executive Director, Harriet Warshaw
Website
The Conversation Project is a national organization providing resources for individuals and organizations to help people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care.
90% of people say that talking with their loved ones about end-of-life care is important BUT 27% have actually done so. 82% of people say it’s important to put their wishes in writing BUT 23% have actually done it. When is comes to end-of-life care one conversation can make all the difference. Have the conversation.
Hawai’i Care Choices stands for exceptional care that gives focused support aligned with patient choices. The service lines span a continuum of care for patients.
Palliative CARE
Can begin at diagnosis and provides support while continuing curative treatment to impact disease outcomes.
Hospice CARE
Can begin when a cure is beyond reach. Hospice care provides home care and inpatient care to increase comfort and quality of life.
Bereavement CARE
Is support for those who are in grieving process. It is offered free to community. Services can be provided in-home and in accessible locations.
Services are delivered to patients at home, but are also available at the Pōhai Mālama a Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Care Center or other private care homes where the patient resides. Hawai’i Care Choices also provides free bereavement counseling to any East Hawai’i residents who have lost a loved one (regardless of whether the loved one received hospice care).
“When Hospice of Hilo came in to help us, things got so much better. We got oxygen, we got the wheelchair, and they really helped to relieve the anxiety that was surrounding our whole situation,” said Julia Hoke, wife of Arthur Hoke, who received Hospice of Hilo care.
The Alzheimer’s Association Aloha Chapter serves all of the Hawaiian Islands. The Chapter office is on Oahu, with county offices on Hawai‘i (the Big Island), Kaua‘i and Maui. They offer support to the caregiver through educational support, empowering and validating their efforts as essential in reducing medical costs, and allowing loved ones to remain at home – keeping families together for a longer period of time.
Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC)
1055 Kinoole Street
Hilo, HI 96720-3872
ADRC Statewide: 808-643-2372
Hilo: 80-961-8626
Kona: 808-323-4390
The Office is a designated Area Agency on Aging, enabling the county to receive federal funds through the Older Americans Act of 1965. The Hawaii Aging and Disability Resource Center – houses various State, County and private organizations to simplify your search for aging and disability needs.
The County of Hawai‘i, Office of Aging Mission is: To establish a comprehensive and coordinated system of services in Hawai’i County that enable older people to live independently and with dignity.
Kamana Senior Center
127 Kamana Street
Hilo, HI 96720
808-961-8708
Fax: 808-961-8921
TTY: 808-961-8025
Email
The Elderly Activities Division provides comprehensive and coordinated services for older individuals, which promote maximum independence, optimum health, personal dignity and self-enrichment. EAD staff offers older adults 55 years and older many educational and recreational choices, various opportunities and services to enhance their quality of life, such as employment, volunteer opportunities, transportation, escort, information and assistance, in-home services (chore, personal care), recreational activities, congregate meals and home-delivered meals and islandwide, statewide, national and international activities (Kupuna Hula, bowling, softball, health fair, etc.).
Nā Kūpuna deserve maximum independence, optimum health, personal dignity, and self-enrichment.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
1731 King Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone: 703-837-1500
www.nhpco.org
CaringInfo.com
CaringInfo is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) and provides free resources to help people make decisions about end-of-life care and services before a crisis. Caringinfo.com covers topics including Hospice Care, Palliative Care, Advance Care Planning (AHCD Documentation), Grief and Loss, and Caregiving.
NHPCO works to expand access to a proven person-centered model for healthcare – one that provides patients and their loved ones with comfort, peace, and dignity during life’s most intimate and vulnerable experiences.
To get AHCD documents for all 50 states click the link at the Caringinfo website.