Wailuku Home Holds Barrio Fiesta

This event in Tagalog means Neighborhood Party, which is exactly what it is! Our Molokai and Lanai neighborhood staff got together to put on our 2011 Hale Makua Wailuku Barrio Fiesta! Our Barrio has always been known to bring people together, no matter who you are or where you're from; you're invited to join in the long-time Filipino tradition and as an active part of some of the big themes that define what it means to be part of our Hale Makua Wailuku Ohana: our Food, our Friendship, and our bonds as a family.

Our Care Partners' families got involved in the Barrio Fiesta.  Here, Dana, daughter of Marissa Calubaquib, CNA (transport aide) dances the hula.  Behind her, our emcee Paul Pigao, CNA talks with Barrio Fiesta Queen Romana Nicolas (age 105!) while Activities Assistant Maile Licos, CNA takes care of the music.

Ethel Vamosi, who lives in our Molokai Neighborhood, enjoys the festivities with Sofia Cabias, RN, Staffing Supervisor.

Henry Kaina, who lives in our Lanai Neighborhood is all smiles as he dances with Administrator Connie Miller.

Elmo joins several Care Partners in the chicken dance.

Eden Alternative Tip of the Week: Check Your Care Balance

When was the last time you filled out a care balance check-up sheet for yourself?  When was the last time your care partners did the same?  A care balance check-up involves thinking about an average day of any given week in your life.  During the course of an average day, what are the ways you give to others?  How and what do you receive from your care partners?  Think out of the box when it comes to what you receive.  The gift of warm, receptive smiles is as important as the obvious, more overt gifts of care.

  

Once you've all completed your care balance check-up, share them with each other to learn more about how you each perceive the balance of care between you.  Use this information to make subtle adjustments.  Open, supportive discussion around care balance is a vital part of creating a life worth living!

Wailuku Team Receives Award

Congratulations to the Interdisciplinary Team at Hale Makua Wailuku!  The Team was presented with an Achievement of Excellence in Healthcare Quality Award for Reduction in Restraint Use from 2008-2011 from Mountain-Pacific Quality Health.  They accepted the award on behalf of all the Wailuku staff who joined forces to dramatically reduce restraint use.

Recognition from the Eden Alternative

Hale Makua Health Services was recognized for its inspiration in the May 23, 2011 issue of the Eden Alternative News & Updates with the below write-up.

Hale Makua Health Services in Kahului, HI recently completed Milestone 1 in the Path to Mastery. It was a great way to reinforce the foundation they have laid for their Eden Alternative Journey, which they have named Luana, a Hawaiian term meaning "to live in comfort." To celebrate the completion of Milestone 1, employees, Elders and volunteers in their Wailuku home enjoyed a barbeque together. They turned an artificial Christmas tree into an "Eden Tree" and decorated it with home-made ornaments. They then voted on what their next Luana project should be. The afternoon of sharing food and stories led one resident to remark that it had been a long time since she'd had a picnic like that with everyone laughing and enjoying themselves. "It reminds me of my childhood", she shared. Check out the pictures from their fun-filled celebration!

Eden Alternative Tip of the Week: It Can Be Different - Bringing Meaning to Life

The Eden Alternative Principle Six states that "Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health." This Principle challenges our traditional approach to filling the Elders' daily lives. Under the influence of the medical model, we believe that being busy means being fulfilled. Those seeing through Eden Eyes understand that more is not better. We need to individually honor the events in people's lives. Events should be personalized to the home, the neighborhood, and to the individual. Everyone can play a part in finding meaning in daily life, not
just those with the word "activity" attached to their job description. Lastly, less is more when it comes to filling life with meaning. Here is a great example from the Sitka Pioneers' Home in Alaska.

Ta's New Connection: Her Computer
Let's take a look at how reinventing the activities calendar, to focus more on individual needs, has dramatically enhanced the lives of Elders. Here is one example: Ta bought herself a laptop for her birthday about 6 months ago. She knew very little about how to operate it when she first got it. She depended on us to get a wireless router, so that she could access the internet from her room and get her email set up. After some time, she even got brave enough to tackle Facebook! Without the flexibility in our schedule, her skills would not have advanced so quickly. She found a class to take at the local library about basic computer operations, and she made sure to attend as many sessions as she could. She has fallen in love with the game of FreeCell, and takes full advantage of her ability to interact with her family, who live at a distance, and some of her friends from 40 years ago.