Residents Help with Luau Preparations

Residents cutting the fabric and pinning together the pieces to form a bag

Some of the residents at Hale Makua Kahului helped us prepare for our annual Ohana Luau fundraiser by sewing beautiful fabric bags for sponsor table gifts. This reflects Eden Alternative Principle #4 - a community with opportunities to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.

Jerry strings a ribbon through the top of a bag

Vilma shows off her work in progress

Mitsue cuts the fabric to form the bag

Resident Takes Over Caring for Our Fishes

Hale Makua Kahului Resident Harold Rawson feeds our koi and fishes. He's taken over this responsibility from our Admissions Office care partners.

Eden Alternative Tip of the Week: Embraching Change with Humor

St. John's Home in Rochester, NY is pursuing a radically new organizational model and our neighborhood teams still struggle with artifacts from the old model of care. During a recent gathering of our Neighborhood Team Guides, the group sought closure on the past few years and began to look ahead to the process of changing roles.

 
Change can be difficult to promote, as we have to encourage new approaches, while not dishonoring people for their past work. There was much concern about striking the right balance, and one of the team members, Mimi DeVinney, came up with a clever and fun way to do this. She constructed a "Mad-Lib". Each team got the list of word types they needed to come up with (e.g., adjective, verb, positive emotion, negative emotion, co-worker, regulation, etc.). After each team made their list, they were given the text to plug the words into and read back their result to the large group. The text was "A Eulogy for the Institution." The eulogy had both positive and negative associations, as in real life, and the mad-lib style made it light and humorous for all.

 
Here's how it works...

 
“We've come here today in memory of The Institution. The Institution was our (1 - relationship). It was a (2 - positive adjective) Institution, a (3 - negative adjective) Institution, and above all, a (4 - past tense strong feeling) Institution.

 
Institution lived a good life. It existed for (5 - long period of time), and it dreamt of becoming (6 - legendary place). It survived many (7 - emergency code at the home), and overcame (8 - unpleasant situation at the home). Those who knew it, know that its (9 - negative association with a nursing home) kept it from achieving all its dreams, but that didn't stop it from building a reputation for (10 - positive association with a nursing home).

 
Reputation wasn't the defining element of The Institution. It's real heart was its staff. Looking at this group of (11 - word for workers), this is evident. I see (12 - person in the room) and (13 - person in the room) here today, each of whom made The Institution very (14 - positive feeling). I see members of (15 - department at the home) here, whom Institution loved since their day of hire. I've heard stories of (16 - task at the home) at (17 - a place in the nursing home), long nights of (18 - task at the home), fond memories of eating (19 - favorite food at the home) and days spent playing (20 - game played at the home). I've heard stories of the sacrifices made for the Institution, going without (21 - necessity of life), so The Institution could have (22 - tradition at the home), and comply with (23 - nursing home regulation).

 
I think it will make it easier to say goodbye, knowing how much Institution was (24 - opinion of another) and how it was (25 - past tense feeling) in its lifetime. Institution lived a good life and may (26 - a higher power) bless it. Amen.”

 
(Ad lib activity created by Mimi DeVinney, care partner from St. John's in Rochester, NY.)

Resident Letter of Support for Luana

Dear Sirs,

Just a note to say ‘thank you’ for the good care I receive as a resident here at Hale Makua Kahului in the Pikake Neighborhood.  And while it’s true that my 1st choice would be to live at home, I know that the care I receive here is the best I could ask for.  The openness to come and go safely and be able to join any activities I care to, or to play my harmonica where I like (of course with consideration for others) helps me make the best of my time here at Hale Makua.  Thank you for Luana benefits, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a care home in my 96 years quite as good as this one is.

Sincerely,

Harold Rawson

Resident Ignacia Quiray Celebrates 100th Birthday.

Ignacia with her daughter and four sons

Over 50 family members gathered together on July 15, 201,1 to throw a party for resident Ignacia Quiray who celebrated her 100th birthday a Hale Makua Kahului. 

Residents Enjoy a Concert by Founding Member of Kapena

Tivaini “Tiva” Tatofi (center), a founding member of Kapena, offered a free concert for Hale Makua residents July 23 in Wailuku. He performed with brother Sione (back row, from left), son Joshua, niece Litea and daughters Vika and Naite. Hale Makua residents Dolly Villarimo (from row, from left), Sarah Takatani and Tiva’s uncle, Faaoso Talanoa, enjoyed the music and dance.

Luana Moment Shared

Activities Director, Teresa Lopes, shares how one resident provided care and brightened her day...

On Friday afternoon when we were cleaning up I asked my staff to just toss all the carnival games and extra prizes in my office, so this morning I knew I was going to walk into a very messy office. When I got here there was a bag hanging on my door knob with a small box of candy and a card from one of our residents on the Ilima neighborhood. He wrote a very special card wishing me a Happy Birthday and Thank you for Friday’s event, but the most special part of his card was what he wrote on the envelope which I would like to share with all of you.

“God Bless”

Hale Makua

Home that I Love

Stand beside her and Guide her

Thru the night with the lights from Above.

Family Member Letter of Gratitude

To Whom It May Concern,

As the family of Harold Rawson – my Dad and a resident in the Pikake Neighborhood ---my wife and I, and my sister Linda (from Costa Rica, but who visits regularly) would like to  extend our deep thanks to all the staff at Hale Makua….from the nurses, CNA’s, social services staff, administrations people, to the food prep, and Aloha Café workers, the yard and maintenance and all the great cleaning staff, the Doctors, transporters, supervisors, therapists (yes, even the volunteer help) and anyone I may have inadvertently overlooked:  You are all the best.  Your concern and commitment to making Hale Makua Kahului the best it could possibly be is evident from day-to-day and in every neighborhood and in the attitude of every worker.

It’s hard to walk away from my Dad and leave him behind as I visit him, but knowing the care that will be given and the love shown him after our visits are pau, make the leaving easier.  It’s true for us, and for my Dad too.  He has never….not even once in the nearly 2 years that he has been a resident….ever had a nasty or negative comment about those who attend to him.  Quite a testament to the good folks at Hale Makua and the love they share amongst themselves and the folks the care for.

So, please accept our thanks and rest assured of our continued support for the facility and its staff as we all work together to implement even deeper on an ongoing basis the principles that are embodied in the Eden journey that we know as Luana.

Very Sincerely,

Ron & Izzy Rawson and Linda Lamers

Eden Alternative Tip of the Week: Practice the Art of Being

Summer provides us with many opportunities to reflect on what it means to simply "BE." The art of creating a caring community relies on our ability to embrace the moment and drink it in. Being fully present for each other is central to building relationships. Next time you are at the beach or the lake or your favorite outdoor spot, take five minutes to tune in. In those five minutes, list everything you see. What are the scents? Ocean air? Suntan lotion? What do you feel? The breeze? The sun on your face? The heat on your skin? What are you hearing? The sound of birds? The lapping of waves? Detail every part of your sensory experience. Notice what you like about what you are experiencing, and even what you don't. The important thing is that you are completely there, in the moment.

Celebrating Eden Alternative Milestone 1

We are excited to let you know that Hale Makua Kahului and Wailuku have passed the first milestone along the Eden Alternative journey which we call Luana (“living in comfort). To mark this accomplishment we cordially invite all residents and their extended family to participate in our Luana / Eden Carnival Celebration Friday, July 1st, 1 - 3 pm

Children and grandchildren are especially welcome. Each nursing neighborhood will decorate and focus on one of the ten Eden Principles. A different carnival game will take place at all of the neighborhoods, Day Health, the Business Office, Nutrition Services, and in the Aloha Café. On arrival at our Kahului community, please go to the Aloha Café (dining area in Activities) to receive your game map. Prizes will be awarded to all of the winners. There will be a clown, balloons and animals.

We will be serving carnival type food such as shave ice, cotton candy, pronto pups, etc. We hope to see you there to help us celebrate as we continue our journey to eliminate the three plagues of loneliness, helplessness and boredom.