Kaʻū News Briefs December 10, 2023

     Also attending was Edmund C. Olson who continued his annual contribution to help fund the event.

     Gov. Josh Green sent a proclamation. The parade ended with Santa Claus greeting keiki at Pahala Community Center with time for families to take their photos and hot dogs and cake for the community. 

    See more on the parade transition ceremonies and the event in upcoming Kaʻū News Briefs. 

Lorilee Lorenzo and Ikaika Grace lead the paniolo during Pāhala Town Lighted Christmas Parade. Photo by Stacyn Lopez Sakuma

The crew that produced and executed the first Pāhala Town Lighted Christmas Parade rests with Santa after the event is pau. Photo from Pahala Town Lighted Christmas Parade Committee

PREVENTING MATERNAL MORTALITY is the aim of $295,000 in federal funds recently received by the state Department of Health Maternal and Child Health Branch. The money will also support maternal mortality review committees. Maternal mortality rates in the United States are higher than in many other developed countries. Approximately ten to 12 women die each year in Hawai‘i as a result of pregnancy or pregnancy-related complications, with more than half of those deaths deemed preventable, says a statement from state Department of Health. 
     “In partnership with the DOH, the Hawaiʻi State Legislature authorized the establishment of the Hawai‘i Maternal Mortality Review Committee (HMMRC) in 2016 to review cases of maternal mortality, collect accurate data, and develop strategies for prevention,” said Kimberly Arakaki, MCHB chief. “This statute allows DOH to conduct multidisciplinary and multiagency reviews of maternal deaths to reduce the incidence of preventable deaths.”
    The DOH statewide strategic plan is to maintain and expand the HMMRC to indentify root causes of pregnancy-associated deaths and the key points where intervention may have prevented these deaths. The committee will focus on the social determinants of health, including disparities in access to care; specific needs of indigenous populations, and root causes of complications and morbidity in pregnancy, including substance use disorder, mental health, and adverse childhood events.
    During the five years of reviews (2017-2021) conducted by the HMMRC, a total of 69 cases (death years 2015-2021) of pregnancy-associated deaths statewide were identified. The committee began making recommendations based on the preventable causes of death identified in the review. These include improved continuity of care; improved education for patients, communities, and providers about substance use, motor vehicle safety, and perinatal mental health conditions; more robust and universal screening; referral to treatment practices; and patient safety bundles for hospitals related to sepsis, hypertension, and hemorrhage.
    The grant will also help to fund key initiatives of MCHB and the Hawai‘i Maternal and Infant Health Collaborative, which MCHB supports with funding and resources. The HMIHC implements projects through a health or community-based organization that focuses on increasing access to birth control methods, family planning, and preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections and diseases (STIs and STDs).
    MCHB and HMIHC initiatives include supporting perinatal behavioral health to prevent maternal deaths related to perinatal mood, anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders of women.

   They also include supporting an agency to provide a mobile clinic for perinatal assistance to people in poverty and homeless as they have limited access to prenatal education, care-enabling services, healthcare, and behavioral health care.
    Coordinating a diversity and inclusion conference on Oʻahu for healthcare workers, hospital administrators, obstetric care medical directors, midwifery professionals, and community leaders.
Implementing paid media campaign. To learn more, visit health.hawaii.gov/mchb.

Inka priests, one woman and three men, will offer healings and sell weavings and other items at Ailani Orchards Fruit Stand in Waiohinu on Wednesday and Saturday. they offered their healing sounds at Ke Ola Pu‘uhonua cultural grounds in Nāʻālehu on Saturday. Photo by Madelyne Maluhia Brooks

Kumu Debbie Ryder (center) receives  healing from  Inka priest at Puuhonua in  Na'alehu on Saturday. Photo by Madelyne Maluhia Brooks

INKA WEAVINGS FROM A Q'ERO -Inka village at 14,500 altitude in the Andes in Peru will be sold west of Waiohinu at Ailani Orchards Fruit Stand mauka at 94-6648 Highway 11 on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Inka villagers who weave as part of their spiritual practices and also conduct healing sessions, will sell their weavings and offer healing sessions both days.
    The healing sessions involve "calling the powers of nature with sounds, bells and intention to find where negative energy is located," according to one of the students participating in a healing retreat at Ailani Orchards. Healings cost $100 or less. The weavings sell for $60 to $80.
    Also for sale are bracelets, necklaces and other small items at a lower price. The sale is sponsored by the nonprofit Wiraqocha Foundation led by Elizabeth Jenkins who lives on the property where four Inka men and one woman priest from the village, plus a translator from Cuzco are involved with a healing retreat for locals and international visitors. See wiraqochafoundation.org.
   The Inka men and women shared their sounds, bells, weavings and spiritual callings at Ke Ola Pu‘uhonua cultural grounds in Nāʻālehu on Saturday, where Halau Hula O Leionalani also performed. 

Inka priests offer blessings to members of Halau Hula O Leionalani. Photo by Brenda Iokepa Moses