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| A musical event Saturday honors the late Cinnie Decker, founder and conductor of Ka`u `Ohana Band. Photo from Ka`u School of the Arts |
NATIONAL RANKINGS PLACE Hilo Medical Center among Hawai`i’s top hospitals.
In the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ national rankings for Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, Hilo Medical Center was one of just four hospitals statewide to achieve the four-star ranking. “Hilo Medical Center is like our ‘mother ship,’” said Ka`u Hospital Director Merilyn Harris, “and we congratulate them on this tremendous achievement.” |
| Hilo Medical Center is ranked among Hawai`i's top hospitals. Photo from HHSC |
“Our entire team has worked diligently to transform Hilo Medical Center from good to great,” said Dan Brinkman, East Hawai`i Regional CEO of Hawai`i Health Systems Corporation. “We have been honored to receive numerous accolades, including the recent AACN Beacon Award for Excellence, on our quest to become a leading hospital in Hawai`i. This new four-star ranking demonstrates the high quality of our services that result in better patient outcomes. We strive to make everything we do here a best practice.”
Over 4,200 hospitals, both public and private nationwide, are required by CMS to track and measure key indicators. Only 20 percent of hospitals reporting garnered four stars.
“Our incredible team of nurses, physicians, aides, housekeepers and administrative staff care deeply about the well-being of our community” Brinkman said. “Nearly all patients can be successfully treated right here at Hilo Medical Center, eliminating the need for Hawai`i Island residents to travel to O`ahu – saving them time, stress and money.”
“The Hilo Medical Center team has proven that a safety net hospital such as ours that serves a mostly rural population can also be exceptional,” said Kurt Corbin, Board Chair of HHSC East Hawai`i Region. “Our community is proud of this achievement and can look forward to upgrades in our Imaging Department technologies along with ongoing improvements in the patient experience.”
Ka`u Hospital’s long-term care is currently ranked as four star. Nursing Home compare looks at quality of care, results of the most recent Medicare survey/inspections and the level of staffing in each facility.
Historically, Ka`u Hospital has been a five-star facility for long-term care, but because Medicare has been delayed in uploading staffing data, its ranking is set for now at four stars, Harris explained.
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“Our incredible team of nurses, physicians, aides, housekeepers and administrative staff care deeply about the well-being of our community” Brinkman said. “Nearly all patients can be successfully treated right here at Hilo Medical Center, eliminating the need for Hawai`i Island residents to travel to O`ahu – saving them time, stress and money.”
“The Hilo Medical Center team has proven that a safety net hospital such as ours that serves a mostly rural population can also be exceptional,” said Kurt Corbin, Board Chair of HHSC East Hawai`i Region. “Our community is proud of this achievement and can look forward to upgrades in our Imaging Department technologies along with ongoing improvements in the patient experience.”
Ka`u Hospital’s long-term care is currently ranked as four star. Nursing Home compare looks at quality of care, results of the most recent Medicare survey/inspections and the level of staffing in each facility.
Historically, Ka`u Hospital has been a five-star facility for long-term care, but because Medicare has been delayed in uploading staffing data, its ranking is set for now at four stars, Harris explained.
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KA`U LEARNING ACADEMY will offer seventh grade this semester, which begins Monday. KLA previously offered grades three through six. The state Charter School Commission gave its OK yesterday under the condition that KLA comply with all county standards and approvals. KLA wasn't able to complete expansion of the facility to accommodate more students in time for this semester and is required to keep the staff and student population within the occupancy limit set by the county in the existing facility, according to the commission.
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| Hawai`i Attorney General Doug Chin |
THE CONFERENCE OF WESTERN Attorneys General has chosen Hawai`i Attorney General Doug Chin to be its new chair for 2016-2017. The selection was announced during CWAG’s annual meeting in Idaho. Chin served as vice chair from 2015-2016.
Chin is the first Attorney General from the state of Hawai`i to serve as chair of this conference. As chair, Chin will also be on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Attorneys General, representing Western states.
Chin will host CWAG members from March 14-16, 2017 for his chair’s Initiative Meeting and Western Pacific Attorneys General Summit. Topics of the meetings will include open government and sustainable energy solutions.
CWAG provides a forum for western state attorneys general to cultivate knowledge, cooperate on concerns and coordinate actions that improve legal services available to members, consumers, industries and government agencies. CWAG addresses emerging legal topics along with focusing on common areas of interest to the west: water, fish and wildlife, public lands, minerals, environmental protection and Indian law.
Member states and territories include Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawai`i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
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Chin will host CWAG members from March 14-16, 2017 for his chair’s Initiative Meeting and Western Pacific Attorneys General Summit. Topics of the meetings will include open government and sustainable energy solutions.
CWAG provides a forum for western state attorneys general to cultivate knowledge, cooperate on concerns and coordinate actions that improve legal services available to members, consumers, industries and government agencies. CWAG addresses emerging legal topics along with focusing on common areas of interest to the west: water, fish and wildlife, public lands, minerals, environmental protection and Indian law.
Member states and territories include Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawai`i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
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| Mililani Trask |
SEVERAL NATIVE HAWAIIAN COMMUNITY leaders and activists have recently gone on record urging non-Hawaiians to vote in the election of trustees for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Although, by law, all registered voters may cast ballots for trustees of OHA, a state government agency, Hawaiian leaders are taking to the airwaves to remind the public.
Mililani Trask, an attorney and native Hawaiian advocate, told ThinkTech Hawai`i, “Hawai`i is just too small, and the need is just too great to have people believe they can’t get involved just because of an ethnic difference.... Unless we get the support of the non-Hawaiian voters, we are just not going to be able to clean up the situation at OHA.... We need the other voters to join us to help clean it up. Trask is a candidate for the Big Island OHA Trustee seat, an election in which voters on all islands can vote. See youtube.com/watch?v=pE-FtsVmN6s.
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| `Ehu Kekahu Cardwell |
`Ehu Kekahu Cardwell, the leader of the Koani Foundation, has released a video on the Free Hawai`i Broadcasting Network in which he urges Hawaiians to “ask non-Hawaiians to vote. Ever since the Rice versus Cayetano court decision, anyone, whether Hawaiian or not, can vote in OHA elections…. So we here at Free Hawai`i TV want to ask you a favor. If you`re kanaka maoli (Hawaiian), please vote and please tell all of your non-Hawaiian family members and friends that they too should vote.” See youtube.com/watch?v=tC6KziAM_-s.
Addressing the low participation of non-Hawaiians in previous OHA elections, `Ehu Kekahu Cardwell added, “In past elections, many non-Hawaiians have been refraining from voting for OHA Trustees because they think it’s not proper to do so. Tell them you need them to vote. Please tell every Non-Hawaiian you know to vote for OHA Trustees in the Aug. 13 Primary and in the November General Election. ”
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| Keli`i Akina |
Keli`i Akina, Ph.D., the first native Hawaiian President/CEO of the Grassroot Institute, said, “OHA has become a powerful state agency that affects virtually every decision involving land, ocean, culture and people in the state of Hawai`i. OHA affects everyone’s business, and unless everyone votes for good OHA Trustees, OHA will become everyone’s problem. The way to help Hawaiians is for everyone to vote and stop OHA from wasting public funds on its political pursuits and instead use them to meet the real needs of Hawaiians for housing, jobs, healthcare and education.” Akina is a candidate for the at-large trustee seat, a statewide election in with all registered voters may participate.
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A MUSICAL EVENT at Ocean View Community Center on Saturday honors a one-time leading Ka`u musician, the late Cinnie Decker.
Decker founded the Ka`u `Ohana band. As a longtime music teacher, she mentored Ka`u students. She was a great source of inspiration among performers in Ocean View and Ka`u, and her legacy lives on in the bands and groups with which she played or conducted and the musicians she taught.
A memorial service to celebrate her life begins with an Episcopalian Mass at 10 a.m., followed by a potluck lunch 11:15 a.m. Music starts at about 11:30 a.m.
Decker founded the Ka`u `Ohana band. As a longtime music teacher, she mentored Ka`u students. She was a great source of inspiration among performers in Ocean View and Ka`u, and her legacy lives on in the bands and groups with which she played or conducted and the musicians she taught.
A memorial service to celebrate her life begins with an Episcopalian Mass at 10 a.m., followed by a potluck lunch 11:15 a.m. Music starts at about 11:30 a.m.
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| Dallas Decker presented a scholarship to musician Ben Houghton, who performs tomorrow. |
A quartet of musicians will provide musical entertainment during lunch. They are Ben Houghton on clarinet, Eugene Watson on trumpet, Nina Lloyd on French horn and Susan Oliver on cello. Lloyd and Oliver will follow, playing five more pieces as a duet.
Hannah’s Makana `Ohana follows with hula from 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Jym Duncan, Ben Houghton, and David Matson perform five piano solos and duets until 1:15 p.m.
Two musical groups in which Decker played, the Last Fling Band and the Blue Rock Mountaineers, will play for about 20 minutes each.
The last performance beginning around 2 p.m., is by Ka`u `Ohana band, which Cinnie Decker conducted. The band is composed of about 15 musicians, performing on mostly wind instruments.
Decker’s many friends will have a chance to share their memories of her at 2:30 p.m., and the event concludes at 3 p.m. with a benediction by Dick Hershberger.
Members of the community are welcome to attend.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
Jym Duncan, Ben Houghton, and David Matson perform five piano solos and duets until 1:15 p.m.
Two musical groups in which Decker played, the Last Fling Band and the Blue Rock Mountaineers, will play for about 20 minutes each.
The last performance beginning around 2 p.m., is by Ka`u `Ohana band, which Cinnie Decker conducted. The band is composed of about 15 musicians, performing on mostly wind instruments.
Decker’s many friends will have a chance to share their memories of her at 2:30 p.m., and the event concludes at 3 p.m. with a benediction by Dick Hershberger.
Members of the community are welcome to attend.
To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see Facebook. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
HAWAI`I VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK archaeologist Summer Roper leads a two-mile roundtrip hike tomorrow from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Participants learn how the residents of this area used a unique method to extract salt, a crucial resource to sustaining life, on this dense lava landscape. Sturdy footwear, water, light rain gear, sun protection and snacks are recommended. The hike is moderately easy; expect hot and dry summer conditions.
Free; park entrance fees apply.
Free; park entrance fees apply.
SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS AT PAHALAPLANTATIONCOTTAGES.COM AND KAUCOFFEEMILL.COM. KA`U COFFEE MILL IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK.
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| See kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.html and kaucalendar.com/TheDirectory2016.pdf. |
