LIHUE — Kauai geriatrician and palliative care physician Dr. Laurel Coleman is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a free AARP Hawaii workshop in Kapaa on June 3. “Hospitalization is hardly ever anticipated and rarely planned for and yet
LIHUE — Kauai geriatrician and palliative care physician Dr. Laurel Coleman is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a free AARP Hawaii workshop in Kapaa on June 3.
“Hospitalization is hardly ever anticipated and rarely planned for and yet it is very common as we age to need hospitalization,” Coleman said. “I think it’s valuable to talk and plan as much as we can so that we feel more capable and prepared when facing important health decisions.”
Caregivers, people who are aging and planning for their future, and people whose loved ones are aging and who may become caregivers could benefit from the workshop.
The workshop will offer practical tips on what you can do now to prepare for the challenges of aging, hospitalization and possible disability.
Attendees will also learn about their rights under a new law that will help the 154,000 caregivers in Hawaii when a loved one goes into the hospital.
The CARE Act (Caregiver Advise, Record, Enable) goes into effect on July 1. The law requires that hospitals:
1) Provide the patient with the opportunity to designate family caregiver on their medical record.
2) Notify the caregiver before a patient is discharged or transferred to another facility.
3) Provide instructions on medical tasks a caregiver will need to perform after a patient is discharged.
The caregiving workshop will be at the Marriott Courtyard Kauai at Coconut Beach from 9:30 a.m. until noon.
To register call 1-877-926-8300 or go to aarp.cvent.com/care6-3.