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III. HAWAII COUNTY OFFICE OF AGING

William Takaba, Executive on Aging, was born and raised in Hilo and graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Industrial Management.  After four years in banking, he began working or the Hawaii County Office of Aging as a fiscal officer.  Mr. Takaba was selected as the Hawaii County Executive on Aging in October 1976.  He also served as the County Director of Finance from 1990 to 1992.

ROLE AND DUTIES

The Hawaii County Office of Aging was established in 1966 and represents the County of Hawaii in planning, coordination, advocacy, and administration of programs for older persons in this county. The Office of Aging is an Area Agency on Aging. Specific functions include the following:

To continuously assess the needs of older persons in Hawaii County and develop programs aimed at meeting these needs;

To monitor, evaluate, and comment on policies, programs, hearings, and community actions which affect older persons;

To represent the interests of older persons to public officials and public and private agencies;

To develop and maintain a public awareness program for older persons;

To maintain data on the profile and needs of older persons in Hawaii County and to have this information available for other organizations and the general public;

To coordinate planning with other agencies and organizations to promote new or expanded benefits and opportunities for older persons;

To develop and administer an Area Plan on Aging for a comprehensive and coordinated service delivery system in Hawaii County;

To enter into sub-grants or contracts for the provision of services outlined in the Area Plan; and

To provide technical assistance, monitor, and periodically evaluate the performance of all service providers under the Area Plan.

The Executive on Aging serves as the director of the Office of Aging. He is responsible to the Mayor of Hawaii County and must ensure that plans and programs are developed according to all applicable rules, regulations, and initiatives and that the office is effectively administered.

STAFF

The Office of Aging employs nine permanent employees, seven in Hilo and two in Kona.

COMMITTEE ON AGING

A Committee on Aging, appointed by the Mayor, assists the Office of Aging in carrying out its planning responsibilities. The majority of its members are over the age of 60 and represent major districts of Hawaii County. The following are its members:

• William T. Carse, Chair

• Shigeko I. Chang, Vice Chair (East Hawaii)

• Henry Dulan, Vice Chair (West Hawaii)

• Alwin F. Campainha, Waiakea-Keaau

• Debera Donner, Kailua-Kona

• Colleen G. Fuhrmann, Upper Puna-Ka'u

• Billie P. Keawekane, Keaukaha-Hilo

• Roland Kleger, North and South Kona

• June Kunimoto, Waiakea-Keaau

• Derek Kurisu, Waiakea-Keaau

• Robert A. Pennington, Upper Puna-Ka'u

• Tom Poy, Hamakua

• Daisy U. Smith, Lower Puna

• Harold B. Bugado, Hawaii County Elderly Activities Division

• Larry Manliguis, Hawaii County Economic Opportunity Council

• James Ota, Policy Advisory Board for Elder Affairs

• Patrick Pavao, State Office of Veterans' Services

HIGHLIGHTS

For this period, the Office of Aging pursued major initiatives in the following areas:

During the period July 1, 1996 through June 30, 1997, the Office of Aging's operating budget was $302,294. By obtaining an additional $1.9 million in federal and state grants, the Office of Aging was able to administer a variety of services for older persons on the Big Island. Major services funded were: caregiver support, case management, chore, employment, hospice, information and assistance, legal, nutrition, outreach, personal care, residential renovations, respite, small group homes, transportation, and volunteerism.

Traditionally, services developed by the Office of Aging focused on the recipients of care.

Through its Caregiver Resource Center, the Office of Aging is now actively studying the needs of caregivers to make sure that adequate training and support are provided to these individuals.

Through data that the office collects, appropriate services and information are now available to caregivers regularly.

In response to the caregivers issues and needs that were identified at the Area Plan on Aging hearings in 1995, the Office of Aging in Kona assisted in the establishment of a caregiver committee that is now known as the Hawaii Community Caregivers Network (HCCN). During FY1996-97, the HCCN received a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation to build on community participation and to fund a needs assessment study of caregivers residing in West Hawaii.

A total of 12 caregiver related training sessions were offered in FY1996-97. Title/topics included:

"Service Need Explosion: How Do We Manage?"

Integration of Services in Light of Scarce Resources, Assisted Living and Managed Care.

"Creating Caring Environments for Persons with Dementia."

"Alzheimer's Care: Moving Into the Millennium" (Offered in both Hilo and Kona districts).

"Knowledge and Compassion--A Community Cares."

Progress in Geriatrics, Who are the Caregivers and What Do They Want, Medical Decision Making (As Applied to Quality of Life Issues), Alzheimer's Disease Difficult Behaviors, ER Physician's Perspective on Death and Dying, Cultural Issues on Death and Dying Panel, and Mercy Killing.

"The Brain Series" including evolution, perception, memory, renewal, and drug/medication interactions.

"Supportive Housing" panel of speakers for projects planned for the Big Island.

"The Latest on Assisted Living."

Sessions were offered in Honokaa, Hilo, and Kona. We plan to extend sessions to more districts in FY1997-98.

The Office of Aging and the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii co-sponsored Public Benefits Training workshops in Hilo and Kona. The purpose of the workshops was to update service providers on the impact of the new welfare reform law.

Some of the topics areas covered were: immigration laws, the Quest program, medicaid, medicare, welfare benefits and food stamps. The workshops were attended by approximately 40 individuals representing agencies that provide services to the elderly.

The Office of Aging awarded $9,500 to the Community Health Nursing Division of the State Department of Health to demonstrate an intergenerational health education program in West Hawaii.

The project provided six eight-hour training sessions to participating Konawaena High School students and offered them an experience in providing direct services to the elderly in the community.

The Hamakua Community Planning Council on Aging (CPCA), in partnership with the Hamakua Health Center (HHC), received a $5,000 Partners in Eldercare grant from the Office of Aging in January 1997. With this small grant, the CPCA and HHC gathered community resources and identified substandard plantation homes having elderly occupants and assessed their safety needs, purchased and supplied safety equipment to those homes, and monitored the uses. With the help of the Boy Scouts of America, this preventive project also purchased and installed house numbers that would enhance identification in case of an emergency.

A total of 420 persons have been served by this community-based project that intends to keep the elderly safely within their homes for as long as possible.

On October 30, 1996, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, the Office of Aging, the State Executive

Office on Aging, the University of Hawaii Elder Law Program, the Attorney General's Office, and the Lawyers Care Domestic Violence AmeriCorps Program partnered to present a follow-up conference on changes to the Adult Protective Services Law of 1996.

The conference, held in Honokaa, hosted 75 persons interested in the various issues surrounding elderly abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The questions of what the changes to the law are, what they mean, and how to proceed from here were addressed by panelists and individuals from Honolulu and the Big Island.

Through a special grant from the State Executive Office on Aging, the Office of Aging entered into a contract with Services for Seniors (SFS) to design and demonstrate an evaluation tool that could be used to measure the service and satisfaction levels of case management clients.

The evaluation tool developed by the SFS was tested on 25 case management clients. The feedback on service and satisfaction levels proved to be very positive.

Services for Seniors will continue to use this tool as part of an internal evaluation process. It will also be shared with other case management programs.

At a special luncheon sponsored by the Office of Aging, 23 senior citizens were recognized for outstanding achievement and service to their communities by Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro.

In addition to the selection of the two Outstanding Older Americans for 1997, 12 special awards were presented to outstanding senior nominees. The Office of Aging also presented Partnership Awards to recognize business and individual contribution made in support of elder programs and services.

The two honorees selected as Outstanding Older Americans for 1997 were Evelyn Andrade of Honokaa and W. Edwin Bonsey of Hilo. Others recognized were: Eveline Fogg of Keaau, Lily Hekekia of Ka'u, and Betty Mertl of Puna, Community Service Award; Dolores Bartolome of Kohala, Roseline Victorine of Hilo, and Robert Pennington of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Senior Activities Award; Toshiko Kato of Kohala, John DeCleene of Hilo, and Fred E. Green, Jr. of Hilo, Personal Achievement Award; Doris Namihira of Hilo and Dr. Edward K. Akioka of Honokaa, Golden Years Award.

Every year the staff of the Office of Aging nominates businesses and individuals who have shown exceptional support of aging programs and activities to receive Partners in Eldercare, Partnership Awards. This year's recipient of the Partnership Award in the business category was Wesley Segawa and Associates for their assistance in the development of the Kohala Intergenerational Center. The individual award was presented to Roland Kleger of Kona for his dedication as a caregiver and founder of the Alzheimer's Association here on the Big Island.

In 1996, the State Executive Office on Aging (EOA) held a conference to launch a statewide project called "Summit 2011: Long Life - Good Life." The year 2011 is significant as this is the year the first of the baby boomers will turn 65. From that point forward, Hawaii's 65+ population will increase steadily from 190,000 in 2011 to approximately 262,000 in 2020. Baby boomers are the 73 million individuals born between 1946 and 1964.

Big Island representatives Dr. William Carse, Derek Kurisu, Roland Kleger and William Takaba joined a diverse group of participants from the public and private sectors in a statewide visioning process with a goal of developing a preferred future. As an outcome of the first conference, three work groups were formed to analyze the input received and develop scenarios to help visualize the futures people were looking for.

These scenarios ranged from "Aloha Village" a rural sustainable development to an urban "Boomerville" with a range of amenities to a scenario emphasizing an ohana style of design and living.

In 1997, work groups organized into three categories: Economic Well-Being and Security, Individual and Community Well-Being, and Physical Environment. These groups drafted recommendations for possible policies, plans, projects and programs. At the June 26 conference, the 93 recommendations developed by the work groups were presented and a "Call to Action" was launched to implement these recommendations.

The final report and recommendations will be shared with the Office of Aging Community Planning Councils on Aging for appropriate follow up and/or action.

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