Bruce Bottorff

By Helen Altonn

AARP Hawaii announces the appointment of Audrey Suga-Nakagawa as director of advocacy. She comes to AARP with more than 25 years of consulting and management experience in public health, health care administration, social services and gerontology. Prior to her appointment, Suga-Nakagawa served on AARP Hawaii’s volunteer Executive Council and provided outreach and advocacy expertise to public- and private-sector agencies as the owner of ASN Consulting Services.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige signed into law today a bill requiring hospitals to establish procedures giving family caregivers the opportunity to receive instruction in the medical tasks required when their loved ones are discharged. The CARE Act – HB 2252 HD1 SD2 CD1 – paves the way for greater consideration of caregivers in hospital discharge processes. The law takes effect July, 2017.

Volunteers and staff from Hawaii were in Washington this week to advocate on behalf of AARP members and all older Americans on the crucial issues of family caregiving and Social Security. While meeting with members of Congress, they had crucial asks:

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Bill Staton recalls his flight touching down in the United States following a one-year tour of duty in Vietnam and hearing the pilot announce over the intercom: “It has been an honor to bring you home.” Like thousands of his fellow servicemen and women returning home from the bitterly divisive war, the 20-year-old Staton soon found himself confronting a number of challenges – including depression, insomnia, and a profound sense of alienation that many veterans continue to struggle with 50 years later. “Those were the last kind words that I heard a stranger say for many years,” he says.

AARP Hawaii is seeking nominations for the 2016 Andrus Award for Community Service, which honors individuals who give of their experience, talent, and skills in making valuable contributions to the community.

AARP Hawaii State Director Barbara Kim Stanton issued this statement following the Legislature’s unanimous passage of the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act – HB 2252:

The Hawaii State Legislature passed the CARE Act today in separate floor votes in the House and Senate. Lawmakers unanimously passed HB 2252 - the Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable (CARE) Act - making Hawaii the 30th state or territory since 2014 to give caregivers the opportunity to receive instructions when their loved ones are discharged from the hospital.

In an effort to help residents avoid falling victim to identity theft, AARP Hawaii is joining with Access Corporation on Hawaii Island, Maui and Oahu to sponsor Shred Fest 2016 on Saturday, April 30 (8 a.m. – noon) – providing free shredding of personal financial documents and other sensitive records.