LIHUE — While the bill package to support kupuna care services that passed through lawmakers on Tuesday is mostly aimed at statewide programs, supporters of the package say it’s going to boost services on Kauai.
The four “Kupuna Caucus” bills approved Tuesday bring total funding for community elder services to more than $20 million. It dedicates $18 million to care services, expands and strengthens the caregivers program, supports healthy aging, and provides funds to coordinate and improve Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia services.
And standing next to several House and Senate members and community advocates, Senate President Ron Kouchi said that the bills will translate to better care, better choices, and better health for Hawaii’s kupuna.
That’s especially true for Kauai and Niihau, which have the oldest demographic of all districts in Hawaii, the state with the longest life expectancy in the nation at 80.3 years old.
“My expectation is that these are services could really be used on Kauai,” Kouchi said.
The first of the four bills appropriates $8.2 million in funding for the Kupuna Care Program, in addition to the $9.7 million already appropriated. That brings the total for $18 million for fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 — $9 million each year.
That program is aimed at non-Medicaid eligible, elderly residents and helps keep them in their homes. It provides caregiving and support services and is available statewide.
The second bill expands the Kupuna Caregivers Program by $300,000 to $1.5 million for FY 2019-20. It also mandates caregiver maximization and coordination and increases the amount of money that qualified caregivers can receive from $70 per day to $210 per week.
The third bill sends $550,000 to the Hawaii Healthy Aging Partnership to continue two programs that improve the health and well-being of Hawaii’s kupuna — “Better Choices Better Health” and “Enhance Fitness”. These programs are available at community centers and help with low impact, aerobic and strength training exercises, as well as stretching.
“I know from last year there were quite a bit of participants on Kauai,” Kouchi said. “The Office of Elderly Affairs on Kauai has done a fantastic job and I know they’ve been running the program at community centers and people have been participating.”
Finally, the Legislature passed a bill that provides $59,616 per year for two years for a salary for an Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia services coordinator in the Executive Office on Aging. That’ll cover two fiscal years of salary.
“We’ve had the Alzheimer’s plan and how we’ve got the position to go with the plan. There was nobody to implement it,” Kouchi said.
He pointed out advances in technology and medicine have extended human life expectancy, and as we live longer, new challenges present themselves.
“With better and healthier lifestyles and choices that people are making, we need to deal with things in greater numbers than we had to in the past,” Kouchi said.
Rep. Gregg Takayama , co-chair of the Kupuna Caucus, said that by 2020, a quarter of Hawaii’s residents will be 60 or older.
“It is more important than ever to protect and maintain the ability of kupuna to be healthy, live independently, and remain engaged with their communities,” said Takayama. “Every dollar that we spend on them, every person that we are able to keep out of a nursing home, saves money for all of us as taxpayers and improves their quality of life.”
These four bills now advance to Gov. David Ige for approval or veto.
What??? “It also mandates caregiver maximization and coordination and increases the amount of money that qualified caregivers can receive from $70 per day to $210 per week.”
So, now it will be a maximum of three days a week, at the same old rate of $70 per day?
I trust this was an error!