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Aloha Kōkua Mau,
Please join us on July 16 for Palliative Pupus, our bi-monthly clinical case discussion and on July 31 for our monthly Kokua Mau Meeting when Valisa Saunders will present Choosing Wisely: Polypharmacy Reduction in the Elderly.
Congratulations to us!!
The Governor signed the new POLST legislation (HB2052, now Act 154) on June 30.
All (old) POLST forms filled out and signed by a physician before July 1, 2014 remain valid!
While the 'old' POLST forms with the word 'physician orders' are still valid we recommend that you only use the new POLST form after July 1, 2014. (It has a new added section E and quite a few wording changes.)
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Wed. 7/16 Palliative Pupus
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This month's meeting features another case from the cutting edge of hospice and palliative care as our presenters share their experiences caring for a challenging patient across the continuum of care.
Wed. July 16
5:15 to 7:00 PM
The Queens Conference Center (QCC) Room 200
510 S. Beretania Street, Honolulu, HI 96813
Please note Palliative Pupus participants: There is FREE parking after 4 PM in the municipal lot on South Beretania, just Diamond Head of Queen's. You may have to look a bit, but free is hard to beat downtown. See our website for a map.
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Thur. 7/31 Kōkua Mau Meeting
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Please join us for Choosing Wisely; Polypharmacy Reduction in the Elderly presented by Valisa Saunders MN, APRN, GNP-BC. Valisa is a Gerontological Nurse Practitioner with Hawaii Health Systems and an instructor at UH Manoa Nursing, Nurse Practitioner Program and at JABSOM, Department of Geriatrics.
The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and ABIM Foundation has published two documents on a national multi-organizational program called Choosing Wisely to educate consumers, providers and faciiltate discussions on key geriatric issues based on the best medical evidence. Read more on their website.
Additionally there will be updates and announcements so if you would like to be included on the agenda, contact Jeannette and yes, there will be real coffee and snacks.
Thursday, July 31
3pm-5pm
Conference Room 224
Weinberg Building
St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii
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| Senior Fall Prevention Campaign |
Great new resources from the Hawaii Department of Health - Senior Fall Prevention Campaign.
Falls are the most common type of unintentional fatal and nonfatal injury in Hawai'i each year: - fatal unintentional injury averaging over 108
- nearly 21,000 emergency room visits for nonfatal unintentional injury
- and 2,700 hospitalizations (nonfatal)
More than three quarters of the people are aged 65 or older and the risk of fatal falls increases dramatically as people age. The emotional and fiscal burden associated with fall injuries is significant.
Our local Fall Prevention Consortium has pulled together
great resources to help you and those you care for prevent falls, including wonderful videos by Kokua Mau's own filmmaker Janette Sargent-Hamill.
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POLST legislation signed into law as Act 154!
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All POLST materials on the Kōkua Mau website reflect the main i mprovement that APRNs will be able to sign a POLST - now called Provider Orders for Life Sustaining Treatments. FAQ: - All POLST forms filled out and signed by a physician before July 1, 2014 remain valid!
- The 'old' POLST forms with the word 'physician orders' are still valid. We recommend that you only use the new POLST form (Provider Orders) after July 1, 2014. It has a new added section E and quite a few wording changes and clarifications.
Thanks to a great collaborative effort, including many Kōkua Mau members, the new expanded POLST legislation is now law! Many individuals and organizations represented and actively supported the POLST Task Force so this was truly a statewide hui. Thank you for your support, testimony, expertise and countless last minute emails! Gov. Abercrombie signed the bill (HB2052) into law on Monday morning and Act 154 went into effect on July 1. morePlease visit the Kōkua Mau website (including a picture with the Governor) for the new POLST forms and handouts. Our Kōkua Mau website is the central source for (up-to-date) POLST information for Hawai'i. |
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Part D and Hospice Reimbursements: Successful advocacy on Capitol Hill
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Jeannette Koijane was recently in Washington DC and participated in the Hospice Action Network's Advocacy Intensive. In addition to visiting our members of congress and updating them on the good work of hospice and palliative care professionals in Hawaii, I asked them to sign on to a letter asking CMS to temporarily lift implementation of current Part D and hospice guidance and work collaboratively with relevant stakeholders toward a better policy solution. This is part of ongoing advocacy from Healthcare Association of Hawai'i. We are happy to report that 100% of our delegation has signed on to the letter!!
You can read the letter, learn more about the problems with Part D reimbursement and download a timeline for changes from CMS to hospice (9 planned for 2014!!) at the HAN website. They also have a short video outlining the changes. |
8/2 Series: Quality of Care Issues, Late-Stage Dementia & Caregivers
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The Executive Office on Aging, Kōkua Mau, Alzheimer's Association, and St. Francis Healthcare System will co-sponsor a series of presentations on Quality of Care Issues for People with Late-Stage Dementia and their Caregivers.
The first of the series, Benefits of Advance Care Planning, Hospice, and Palliative Care for those with Late Stage Dementia is scheduled for
Saturday, August 2
11am to 1pm,
Presenters: Rae Seitz, MD, Medical Director, Dept. of Quality Management, HMSA; Ken Zeri, RN, MS, President and CPO, Hospice Hawai'i
Space is limited. The series is free, but registration is required. To register, email Jody Mishan or by phone (808) 295-2624. |
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Best wishes,
Jeannette Koijane
Executive Director
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Join Kōkua Mau as a members now for 2014!
Membership is the backbone of Kōkua Mau's budget and helps us to be a financially sustainable organization. Just follow the steps outlined on our website. |
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