Residents Make Their Own Menu Choices

Resident Ron Irimata likes to eat and he knows exactly what foods he likes. Ron has an individualized menu, so every week he works with carepartner and Resident Relations Coordinator  Edna Hedani to plan his menu.

Edna assists Ron is recording his meal selections for the week. Ron likes designing his own menu because he can eat foods he enjoys and “you don’t have to just eat what they’re serving.” Edna adds that Nutrition Services likes helping residents with their menus because it cuts down on wasted food. Ron says that his favorite food at Hale Makua is “just about everything.”

This story illustrates Eden Principle #8: “An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.”

Meaningful Opportunities Flower for Valentine's Day

When resident Thomas Hubble wanted to know when Valentine’s Day was, care partner Teresa Lopes knew he had a reason for asking. Mr. Hubble wanted to get a Valentine’s Day present for his wife Millie. He did not think it would be possible because he couldn’t go shopping before February 14th.

Activities staff decided to help Mr. Hubble create his own present. Care partner Jodi Horton gathered craft supplies and they created a beautiful bouquet of fabric flowers and ribbons. Mr. Hubble dictated a note to be written to his wife. The note was written on a heart and attached to the bouquet. It was meaningful for Mr. Hubble to create a present himself to give to his wife. The staff helped him find a solution that he could carry out using his own creativity. 

This story illustrates Eden Alternative Principle 4: An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care, which is the antidote to helplessness, and Principle 6: Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health.

Eden Tree Decorated in Honor of Milestone 1

When Hale Makua Kahului and Wailuku became Eden Registered Homes in 2009, each received an Eden Tree plaque. The Luana Sponsor Team was excited to receive the honor, and when we reached Eden Alternative Milestone 1 they decided to decorate the Eden Tree to make it unique for Hale Makua.

Residents and care partners closest to them were asked for ideas to decorate the tree. They decided to make small ceramic leaves to glue to the branches of the tree, and will select a flower to represent each of the 10 Eden Alternative Principles to surround the Tree. The photo above shows a resident painting ceramic leaves for the tree.

This is an example of Eden Principle 4: “An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness.” and Principle 8: “An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.”

The Beauty of Companionship

At Hale Makua Wailuku, everyone knows Mochi, the day-time dog. Mochi belongs to Wailuku Activities Director Thaedra Aiyana-Pascarella and comes with her to work. He visits with residents and provides cheerful companionship. Mochi may be a small dog, but she is a big presence at Hale Makua Wailuku, making friends wherever she goes.

In the photo above, a holiday performance on Christmas Eve was an opportunity for residents, community members, and animals to come together for a moment of friendship in the Hale Makua Wailuku dining room. Residents Dolly Villarimo, and Annie Quitan held hands while Mochi watched the entertainers closely.

Having Mochi at the Wailuku campus on a regular basis allows residents to form a relationship with her and feel that they have participation in his care. This connects residents to Mochi and to each other, and is an example of Eden Alternative Principle 3, which states “Loving companionship is the antidote to loneliness. Elders deserve easy access to human and animal companionship.”

Residents Select Coffee Blend

Did you know that residents are served the “Hale Makua” blend of Maui Oma coffee? Several years ago, the Nutrition Services team gathered residents together and asked them to participate in a “taste test” to select the coffee that they would like to be served everyday. A variety of samples were shared with the residents and the coffee that they selected was named the “Hale Makua Blend”.

Many Hale Makua residents still drink that coffee blend everyday at breakfast, lunch, or during the social hour in the Aloha Café. Maui Oma roasts 85 pounds of coffee for Hale Makua every week and they do it just a short distance away at their warehouse on Alamaha Street in Kahului.

This is an example of Eden Alternative Principle 8: An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of Elders or into the hands of those closest to them.

There's No Subsititute for Wise Leadership

During the last week of November, 13 care partners including Olive Bautista, Chris Casio, Jennifer Gardanier, Saundra Gaskey, Janinne Grimes, Tony Krieg, Medardo Lagat, Connie Miller, Gail Raikes, Joyce Tamori, Denise Thayer, Laurie Tomas, and Ted Tucker participated in an intensive five day Eden Alternative training to become Neighborhood Guides. The goal of the training was to equip these care partners with the tools to guide and empower smaller staff teams to become self-directed work teams that change the culture in our homes. These teams will strive to improve the well-being of Elders through compassionate personalized care.

Having these smaller staff teams will make it easier for care partners and Elders to become more well known to each other; to focus more individually on each Elder; to move decision making to the Elders and those closest to them; to create a more home-like environments; and for everyone in the organization to interact meaningfully with Elders.

This is an example of Eden Alternative Principle 10: Wise leadership is the lifeblood of any struggle against the three plagues (of loneliness, helplessness and boredom). For it, there can be no substitute.

Medical Treatment is the Servant of Genuine Human Caring

Mr. Shoichi Nakamoto joined the Hale Makua Wailuku Ohana in February of 2012, and currently resides on the Lanai Neighborhood.  Mr. Nakamoto recently began expressing to his care partners that he was tired of eating his pureed diet, and really wished he could eat saimin again. 

Mr. Nakamoto’s diet orders prescribed by his physician did not allow for saimin. Holly Alling, Speech Language Pathologist with SunDance Rehabilitation (pictured here with Mr. Nakamoto), heard his request and decided to take action. She has been working on safe swallowing techniques with Mr. Nakamoto to try to help him once again enjoy a bowl of saimin, even though Mr. Nakamoto’s medical history conflicts with a diet upgrade.

This picture shows the first day that Mr. Nakamoto was able to enjoy a bowl of saimin here at Hale Makua under close supervision from Holly. Not only did he have a huge smile, but he requested chopsticks and was instantly able to use them with ease!

This is an example of the Eden Principle Seven: Medical treatment should be the servant of genuine human caring, never its master.

A Meaningful Birthday Celebration

Resident Bud Uyenoyama recently celebrated his 97^th birthday. Knowing that Uncle Bud enjoys playing cards, care partner CNAs Dee and Faina set up a table and started a card game. They taught Uncle Bud how to play a game called Monkey Monkey. Soon care partner Jay came by to join in the fun. Then Uncle Bud’s roommate joined in the fun and was teaching the care partners how to play poker, which is Uncle Bud’s favorite card game. 

This is a great example of several Eden Alternative Principles:

• Principle 4: "An Elder-centered community creates opportunity to give as well as receive care. This is the antidote to helplessness. - Uncle Bud's roommate taught Dee, Faina and Jay how to play poker. 
• Principle 5: "An Elder-centered community imbues daily life with variety and spontaneity by creating an environment in which unexpected and unpredictable interactions and happenings can take place. This is the antidote to boredom." - Uncle Bud's roommate and care partner Jay unexpectedly joined in the card game.
• Principle 6: "Meaningless activity corrodes the human spirit. The opportunity to do things that we find meaningful is essential to human health." - Uncle Bud had the opportunity to do something that was meaningful. 
• Principle 8: "An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of Elders or into the hands of those closest to them." - Dee and Faina knew that Uncle Bud enjoyed playing cards, and decided to celebrate his birthday by playing cards. A manager or supervisor didn't ask them to do it.

100 Certified Eden Associates Reached

Congratulations care partners Rosalie Alcon, Irene Alejo, Stephanie Bennett-Felipe, Jay Daguio, Faye Domingo, Temmie Faudan, Yolen Gumboc, Jenna Hedani, Hannah Humphrey, Rene Komoda, Harvey Mira, Byron  Molina, Terri Ocean, Annie Osorno, Mary Jane Pacubas, Joy Palazzotto, Diana Pascual, Miriam Rebolledo, Wendy Roseland, Lalena Thompson, Editha Tumacder and Natalie Turnbull, who underwent an intensive three-day training to become Certified Eden Associates (CEAs)! This graduating class brings our total up to 100 Certified Eden Associates at Hale Makua Health Services!

Moving Decision-Making Closer to Elders

Hale Makua Wailuku resident William Shigetani’s daughter-in-law brought in bananas for Mr. Shigetani and staff. There were so many bananas care partner and Neighborhood Clerk Lily Vergara thought it would be nice to make something different with the bananas for Mr. Shigetani to try. At lunch time she fried and boiled the bananas and brought them to Mr. Shigetani. While he was skeptical at first, he tried the fried bananas and enjoyed them so much that he told Lily that he didn’t want to share them with the other residents.

This is an example of Eden Alternative Principle 8: “An Elder-centered community honors its Elders by de-emphasizing top-down bureaucratic authority, seeking instead to place the maximum possible decision-making authority into the hands of the Elders or those closest to them”.