Category: October – November 2014

  • Active Kona Retiree Volunteers Giving Back

    Senior Volunteers with the Aloha Spirit are having fun and preparing for the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Haualalai coming up January 19 – 25, 2015. This PGA Champions Tour event, televised internationally on The Golf Channel, requires the work and dedication of 400 local residents every year. Kona Rotary, with support from The Four Seasons…

  • Evacuation Outreach As Lava Flows Toward Pahoa Town

    Evacuation Outreach As Lava Flows Toward Pahoa Town

    Generations Magazine staff was invited to join a team of community volunteers on an evacuation outreach mission to Puna seniors living in the path of Kilauea’s latest lava flow. In past centuries streams of lava obliterated Puna farms and Kalapana Village, but most years, fertile soils and clear, ocean breezes make this region a nice…

  • Steps To Emergency Preparedness

    Emergencies and disasters can strike quickly without warning. You are especially vulnerable if you live alone, are confined to your home or forced to evacuate. Physical limitations put you at risk. The likelihood of recovery from an emergency tomorrow often depends on planning and preparation done today. Practice these three steps: Get a Kit; Make…

  • COPD Day, Nov. 19: Breathless But Thriving

    How does it feel to have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)? Pinch your nose and breath through a coffee straw. 46,015 Hawai‘i adults with COPD have this feeling every day. An equal number suffer, undiagnosed. November 19, 2015 is World COPD Day. It’s to create awareness of all lung conditions that cause difficulty in breathing.…

  • A Book By Karen L. Twichell: A Caregiver’s Journey – Finding Your Way

    Caregiving is as much a crisis as the disease or catastrophe that calls us to service. With little warning and less training, we assume responsibility for our loved one. Karen Twichell, R.N. has written a book for us. Twichell knew bed care, but when caring for her own mother, she found that medical training did…

  • It’s Time: Medicare Open Enrollment

    Medicare’s Open Enrollment Period (also called the “Annual Enrollment Period”) is each year from Oct. 15th — Dec. 7th. Each year this is your opportunity to do a Medicare Checkup: Will my plan still be available in 2016? Is my plan still affordable (looking at premiums AND copays)? Are there any new health or drug…

  • It’s Not A House – It’s HOME

    In 1992, when Hurricane Iniki hit the islands, my mother-in-law refused to leave the house. Both Linda and I were working and we called her over and over, trying to get her to go to a shelter. She wouldn’t leave her beloved dog behind and at that time, not many shelters accepted pets. Fortunately, she…

  • It’s Like Going To The Eye Doctor

    When we go to the eye doctor to get a new prescription, the doctor will have us look through many different lenses, constantly asking us which lens provides us with the clearest vision. Much like the eye doctor, I believe that the role of the estate planning attorney is to provide you with estate plan…

  • A Breath of Relief: Pulse Oximeters

    Patients getting used to supplemental oxygen for lung and heart problems sometimes worry whether they are getting enough. The only way to check oxygen “saturation” of the blood is with a blood test or by a new noninvasive technology called pulse oximetry. Pulse oximeters are now readily available in pharmacies and are advertised for as…

  • Is Your Medicare Plan Ending This Year?

    Have you reviewed your Medicare Plan this fall? If not, this article is for you. While It is common for a Medicare Advantage organization to add or change benefits each year, sometimes they may need to discontinue a plan altogether. If so, notification must be sent to the plan’s Medicare members by October 2, 2014.…

  • Grassroots Wisdom: Plantation Values Inspires Alan Parker of ADRC Hawai’i

    Grassroots Wisdom: Plantation Values Inspires Alan Parker of ADRC Hawai’i

    HCOA has a simple process for delivering services to the elderly: when seniors voice a problem, Alan and his staff listen. That’s it. Hawai‘i Island citizens start their own grassroots initiatives and mobilize resources to solve it.

  • The Gift That Gives Back To You

    Did you know there is a way to support your favorite charitable cause and receive cash back? It’s called a charitable gift annuity and many, but not all, charities offer this form of giving. In Hawai‘i, there are some legal requirements that must be met by a charity before it can offer this form of…