New Home for Hospice

Hospice Hawaii Molokai moves into Kamoi St. office space

Photo by Eileen Chao

Giving care when there is no cure is one of the fundamental principles for Hospice Hawaii Molokai, according to Lynette Schaefer, the Hospice Chaplain. Since its inception on Molokai in 1999, this branch of Hospice Hawaii has been providing care by travelling to homes, sheds, campsites and wherever else they were needed without having a permanent home to call their own. However, that officially changed last week.

Staff and volunteers celebrated their new office –located on Kamoi Street next to Kamoi Snack N Go –at a blessing last Friday. The new space includes a reception area and a large multi-purpose room. They previously operated out of a room at the Nurses’ Hale at Molokai General Hospital.

“It was a dream that one day we’d have our own office,” said Cathy Carras, Patient Care Coordinator, in a press release. “We’re busier, and we needed the extra room.”

Hospice Hawaii Molokai will continue to provide hospice and palliative care–or specialized medical attention for serious illnesses –to patients within the comforts of their own homes, but the new office space allows employees a place to come back, meet and discuss important issues. Additionally, the hospice hosts bereavement support groups and community workshops, and the new space will allow patients and their families more privacy for these workshops, according to Carras.

“The Hospice Hawaii Molokai branch program began… with dedicated community members who were driven to make in impact on the end-of- life journeys of their neighbors and friends,” said Kenneth L. Zeri, president and CPO of Hospice Hawaii. “The new office…provides the program with the space and resources it needs to continue to deliver excellent services for the people of Molokai.”