Kokua Mau

Welcome to Kōkua Mau

Kōkua Mau is a Movement to Improve Care for those with serious illness and their loved ones. We are Hawaii’s trusted resource for accurate information on Advance Care Planning (ACP) including Advance Directives and POLST, palliative care, which provides relief from the symptoms and stress of illness, and hospice care which provides the best care possible at the end of life. Kōkua Mau means ‘Continuous Care‘ in Hawaiian.

Collaborating since 1999: Kōkua Mau – A Movement to Improve Care. As a network of organizations and individuals we bring to the forefront meaningful, thoughtful and sensitive conversations on improving care and support for those with serious illness. We are viewed as a thought leader working to ensure that every individual has the right to quality care throughout their lives, including at the end of life. We advocate for quality palliative care and hospice care within the medical and legislative communities in Hawai‘i.

Our goal is to create a community in which advance care planning conversations are the norm. We are fostering a movement to change social norms in Hawai‘i regarding conversations and decisions around serious illness and end-of-life care, and to provide all individuals and communities with greater choice and control regarding their quality of life. We do not focus on the end of life, but rather the quality of life.

We hope that you will find useful Hawai‘i-focused information and resources for yourself, your loved ones and those you care for.

Advance care planning (ACP) can take place years before an illness or crisis occurs and is the first part of the continuum of planning for one’s legacy wishes. To make this possible Advance Directives and POLST are key documents and our Let’s Talk Story Program is available for public and professional education.

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is focused on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family. 

Hospice is specialized care which focuses on the needs of the person and loved ones in the last weeks and months of life and is seen as best care possible for those at the end of life.

In our Tool Kit you find all Kōkua Mau materials (as PDF files) in one place.

Kōkua Mau’s vision is a community where: the people of Hawai‘i are treated with dignity, compassion and love throughout their lives.

To make that vision a reality, Kōkua Mau’s mission is: to weave a lei of caregiving and support so that the people of Hawai‘i facing serious illness can live in the place of their choice, with relief of pain and suffering and according to their values, beliefs and traditions.

What’s New in 2026?

January 2026

Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness – Interpreting in Palliative Care

Palliative Care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life and relieving physical and emotional suffering for people who are experiencing a serious illness. Since palliative care depends on regular, clear communication between patients, providers, and families, interpreters are key members of any palliative care team.

We also offered two interactive seven-hour workshops for Chuukese, Kosraean, Marshallese and Pohnpeian. This multimedia, interactive training included videos, PowerPoint presentations, and practice of interpreting and sight translation.

For interpreters, conversations involving palliative care, especially those at the end of life, can be among the most difficult to convey — not only linguistically and culturally, but personally. This was a unique opportunity for Hawaiʻi January 22-24. More

Working with Medical Interpreters December 2025

On December 4, national expert Cynthia Roat joined us for a down-to-earth presentation on your options for bridging the communication gap across languages, considerations for choosing your best option, and concrete steps for working effectively with an interpreter. Bring your questions and frustrations for this engaging session with one of the country’s leading authorities on language access in health care. Please send your questions ahead of time. More

Medical Interpreting for Patients with Serious Illness: Interpreting in Palliative Care

Palliative Care is the medical specialty that focuses on improving quality of life and relieving physical and emotional suffering for people who are experiencing a serious illness. Since palliative care depends on regular, clear communication between patients, providers, and families, interpreters are key members of any palliative care team.
 
For interpreters, conversations involving palliative care, especially those at the end of life, can be among the most difficult to convey — not only linguistically and culturally, but personally. Join us for a two day zoom workshop and please let the interpreters you might work with know about this training opportunity.

Kōkua Mau Monthly Meeting September 2025

An Ecosystem of Advance Care Planning with Jessica Zan. (Recording available)

MyDirectives have a nationwide registry and work with each state to create comprehensive systems that allow the entire healthcare community – providers, health plans, first responders, state agencies, HIEs/HDUs, and quality organizations to access documents any where, any time. In Hawaiʻi, this approach can accelerate adoption of best practices, streamline deployment across care settings — including for EMS and fire teams providing care in the field — and deliver the reporting and analytics needed to measure impact on quality and cost. Here in Hawaiʻi we continue to look for solutions to help make sure that documents can be found when they are needed. 

Kokua Mau Monthly Meeting August 2025

Kate DeBartolo, The Conversation Project, Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (Recording available)

My Health Checklist was developed by IHI and is a free guide for older adults that complements the Conversation Project’s other materials,which are widely used in Hawaiʻi. Kate DeBartolo will introduce the tool to help people prepare for medical appointments and share with us lessons learned. The Health Checklist is also available in Chinese and Spanish. Details

Webinar Series: Med-QUEST Community Palliative Care Services Benefit – recordings available

In collaboration with Hui Pohala and Med-QUEST, Kōkua Mau offered a series of 4 Webinars to explain the Med-QUEST Community Palliative Care Benefit Implementation to providers as well as a webinar for the public. Visit our Webinar page for recordings of the 4 webinars (since 4/26/25) and details.

February 2025

E ola mau ka olelo Hawaii. Long live the Hawaiian language. In celebration of Mahina ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi, Hawaiian language month, Kōkua Mau is pleased to announce our newest translations: Olelo Hawaii-Niihau.

January 2025

Stay tuned for the CMS Approved Hawai’i MedQuest Palliative Care Program – the first state in the USA. The implementation of the benefit will be rolled out in the coming weeks and months. More on our dedicated webpage.

The memo with details on the implementation of the benefit is now available in 2025. Contact us for details. Access the PDF of the memo below.

A divider line with a ti leaf

December 2024:

The memo with details on the implementation of the benefit is available since December 31, 2024. Memo No. QI-2430, FFS 24-12, CCS-2410 Community Palliative Care Benefit Implementation. Click here for the PDF on the MedQUEST Division website.

May 2024: CMS Approves Hawai’i MedQuest Palliative Care Program – First State in the USA

On May 7, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a new State Plan Amendment (SPA) in Hawai’i to cover community-based palliative care services making Hawaiʻi the first state in the nation to do so!! More on our dedicated webpage.

Events from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021 & 2020 in the archive

Ongoing Current Events:

Register here to receive free Kōkua Mau e-Newsletters with local and national updates and events.

Kōkua Mau’s vision is a community where: the people of Hawai‘i are treated with dignity, compassion and love throughout their lives.

To make that vision a reality, Kōkua Mau’s mission is: to weave a lei of caregiving and support so that the people of Hawai‘i facing serious illness can live in the place of their choice, with relief of pain and suffering and according to their values, beliefs and traditions.

Kōkua Mau depends on donations and annual membership fees to carry on with our work. Please help us improve quality of life for people living with serious illness or at the end of life here in Hawaii. This is a community wide effort that needs everyone’s support.

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