DEPARTMENT:

 

Conference Discusses Active Aging
in the Asia-Pacific Region

Just about every country in the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing a rapid growth of the elderly population, but few of them are prepared to manage the needs and demands of large numbers of elderly people and a shrinking number of young people to care for them.

The February 26–28 Active Aging in Asia-Pacific: Showcasing Best Practices conference will address those concerns. It is being coordinated by the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center on Aging and the Volunteer Resource Center of Hawaii with support from the University’s Center for Japanese Studies; the State Executive Office on Aging; the State Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; and nonprofit Hale Makua, Maui’s premier provider of health-care services. Hawaii’s Ambassador of Aloha, Danny Kaleikini, will serve as host.

Five panels at the Hawaii IMIN International Conference Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s East-West Center will focus on the Overview of Aging, Dimensions of Volunteerism, Creating Elder-Friendly Communities, Caring Environment and Healthy/Productive Aging. The 17 distinguished panelists hail from Hawaii, Japan, China and Korea.

Cost of the full conference is $300, including the welcome reception at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa on February 26; the panels and lunch on February 27; and site visits to four senior citizen centers, lunch and transportation on February 28. The fee for just the February 27 events is $100.

Call 956-8916 or visit the Web site http://vrchawaii.org/ActiveAging.

back to top

PrimeTime Wellness Fair Educates,
Encourages, Entertains

It’s prime time to get healthy! The 12th-annual PrimeTime Wellness Fair can help you evaluate and make wise decisions about your physical, mental and financial health.

Set for March 23 at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall, the Fair is sponsored by First Hawaiian Bank, Kuakini Health System, HMSA, and the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., it is open to the public and admission is free.

At booths sponsored by about 60 organizations, you can pick up games and/or giveaways and the latest information on TheBus, HandiVan, breast cancer, prostate and testicular cancer, radiation therapy, nutrition, hearing problems, laparoscopic surgery, geriatric and adult day-care services, arthritis, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and more.

Also planned are free glucose and cholesterol screenings, blood pressure checks, computerized breast cancer risk assessments, foot and hearing screenings, eye testing, inspections for earwax and risk-for-injuries assessments.

In addition, there will be Bingo games; live entertainment; a cooking demonstration; and seminars on a variety of topics including financial health, Medicare and “Taking Care of Your Heart” by Dr. Kalani Brady, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa.

You’ll also get the chance to win valuable door prizes and the grand prize — a neighbor island getaway for two, courtesy of Creative Holidays. Call 525-7714.

back to top

Pen Women Welcome Maxine Hong Kingston

National Book Award winner Maxine Hong Kingston, author of seminal works such as The Woman Warrior and China Men, will be the keynote speaker at a conference presented by the Honolulu Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. Open to the public, the conference is set for April 1 at Hawaii Tokai International College Pacific Center. Registration will begin at 8 a.m.; sessions will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Hong Kingston will conduct a poetry workshop; other sessions include descriptive techniques, screenwriting, writing personal essays and self-publishing. The conference fee is $75, including lunch. Call 373-2272.

Program Applauds Senior Volunteers

Help Mayor Mufi Hannemann and the Honolulu Committee on Aging celebrate the efforts of citizens aged 60 and older who are actively engaged in volunteer work for the betterment of their communities! The 40th-Annual Mayor’s Senior Volunteer Recognition Program will be held at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel’s Hawaii Ballroom on April 17 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Admission is free.

The program’s theme is “Extending Hands, Extending Lives: A Century of Volunteering.” During the ceremony, the Mayor will acknowledge some 100 deserving volunteers and give special recognition to the man and woman selected as the two outstanding senior volunteers. Melveen Leed and the Royal Hawaiian Band will provide entertainment, Carole Kai and Kimo Kahoano will emcee, and refreshments will be served. Call 523-4545.

back to top

Make Kupuna Connections, Take Charge of Your Money

Every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. on Olelo Community TV Channel 55, Dr. Cullen Hayashida hosts “Kupuna Connections,” an hour-long program dedicated to Hawaii’s seniors and their families. He talks with different experts each week on a wide range of topics, including assistive living, home care options, senior issues at the state legislature, aging well, hospice care and social security.

Hayashida, who holds a Ph.D. in sociology, has 24 years of experience as an educator, long-term care researcher, home health care director, nursing home administrator and developer of more than two dozen projects aimed at finding cost-effective solutions for long-term care services. Call 734-9469.

In addition, the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Cooperative Extension Service airs “Take Charge of Your Money!” on Channel 55 on Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. The hour-long program is rebroadcast on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m.

Running through May 6, the spring programs cover subjects such as investing for and during retirement, the costs of family caregiving and home safety for seniors. Call 956-7138.

back to top

Handy Senior Handbook

American Savings Bank has part-nered with the Elderly Affairs Division of the City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Community Services to publish the 2005-2007 Senior Information and Assistance Handbook. From food, housing and medical clinics to support groups, in-home assistance and legal counseling, the free 80-page directory lists contact information for hundreds of private and public organizations providing services that benefit seniors on Oahu.

The handbook is being distributed at American Savings Bank’s 44 branches on Oahu. It also can be found on the Elderly Affairs Division’s Web site, www.elderly affairs.com. Call 523-4545.

Dance, Golf, Play Games

Still haven’t made plans for Valentine’s Day? The Seniors Valentine’s Ball at the Ala Wai Golf Course’s Palladium is a great option for you and your sweetheart! Sponsored by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation, First Hawaiian Bank and the Makua Alii Ballroom Dance Club, the gala will run from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on February 14. Cost is $5 per person, including a light meal.

On March 9, golf buffs aged 55 and older can tee off in the Senior Citizens Golf Program at the Ted Makalena Golf Course in Waipahu. The green fee is $7, advance registration is required and prizes will be awarded to the winners.

The Senior Classic Games will be held on March 16 at Mililani District Park. Men and women will compete in two age categories: Regular (55–74) and Super Seniors (75 and older). You must be a member of the Senior Citizens Program to participate; visit your nearest Parks and Recreation office to enroll.

Call 973-7258 for more information about these three events.

back to top

Dive into Deep Blue

Azure McCall and her band jazz things up at Deep Blue five nights a week. Photo courtesy of Deep Blue.

Baby boomers are packing Deep Blue, the new supper club at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa that Azure McCall, “Hawaii’s First Lady of Jazz,” now calls home. She performs with a live band on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights from 7 to 10 p.m.; various other jazz artists are onstage Tuesday and Saturday in the same time slot.

Accommodating 160 guests, Deep Blue offers eye-catching under-the-sea décor and great seating options ranging from tables set right in front of the stage to cozy nooks on the side for intimate conversation. Complementing the full-bar service is a delicious Euro-Japanese menu, including dishes such as king salmon and caviar, okra fritters, unagi (eel) spring rolls, and baked uni (sea urchin) and avocado.

Deep Blue’s dance floor is open from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. every night (a deejay spins Top 40 hits and classics from the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s), and there are occasional ticketed events starring local and Mainland artists. Call 922-4992.

back to top

Tidbits for The Sandwich Generation

More than a decade ago, journalist Carol Abaya became involved very suddenly in her parents’ daily care and life. At the time, her mother was 85 and her father was 90.

“My family was completely unprepared to deal with the legal, financial and emotional issues,” she says. “There was little information to guide me, little to help me deal with my roller-coaster emotions, little to help me deal with role-reversal scenarios or having to make decisions for my very independent parents.”

Since then, Abaya has developed a unique understanding of the needs of the elderly and what she calls “The Sandwich Generation.” Her weekly syndicated column of the same name appears in newspapers across the country, and she has been featured in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Kiplinger’s Retirement Report and on CNN, NBC Nightly News and the Phil Donahue Show as a respected expert on aging and elder/parent care issues.

Abaya divides The Sandwich Generation into three categories:

Traditional: those sandwiched between aging parents who need care and/or help and their own children.

Club Sandwich: those in their 50s or 60s, sandwiched between aging parents, adult children and grandchildren or those in their 30s and 40s with young children, aging parents and grandparents.
Open Faced: anyone else involved in elder care.

More than 25 percent of American families currently are involved in some way with elder care. Abaya says she learned the hard way what it’s like to care for aging parents and wants to make it easier for others.

“It’s not easy to become elderly or a parent to your parents,” she says. “After all, our society says adults should be able to take care of themselves. But as more live well into their 80s and 90s, everyone is going to be involved somehow, some way, in elder care if not today, then tomorrow.”
You can purchase copies of articles and audiotapes Abaya has produced for The Sandwich Generation on her Web site, www.sandwichgeneration.com. Subjects include The Tragedy of Alzheimer’s, Maintaining Elder Independence, Living Alternatives, Caregiving, and Confusion and Memory Loss. Prices range from $1.50 to $3.99.

Abaya encourages you to contact her with questions and concerns. Write to her at P.O. Box 132, Wickatunk, New Jersey 07765-0132 or e-mail sandwchgen@aol.com.

back to top

© Copyright Generations Hawaii. Designed by Trade Publishing