Continuing a legacy of indiscriminate care and commitment to the people of Hawai‘i

“Stastics show that Hawai‘i is one of the healthiest states in the nation,” says Jerry Correa, president and CEO of St. Francis Healthcare System. “We live longer here in Hawai‘i than other parts of the world. That’s a good thing, but it doesn’t mean that we stay healthy to the very end of our lives. Many of us will need some kind of long-term care support.”

The number of Hawai‘i residents over the age of 65 has skyrocketed more than 25 percent since 2010, accounting for approximately 17 percent of Hawai‘i’s 1.4 million residents. That means nearly one in five island residents are either in need of or are on their way to needing some form of elder care.

Hawai‘i is home to some 154,000 family caregivers, but the ratio of caregivers to those in need of care is steadily diminishing as demand rises among our aging baby boomer population. According to AARP, there were more than seven potential caregivers for every person in the high-risk years of 80 and older in 2010. That number is projected to fall to fewer than three potential caregivers by 2050.

With the caregiver support ratio in steep decline, St. Francis Healthcare System aims to meet the needs of Hawai‘i’s rapidly expanding senior population with an evolving lineup of home and community-based care options that nurture the physical, spiritual, and mental well-being of local kupuna. That’s the idea behind the St. Francis Kupuna Village, a comprehensive health and wellness center that St. Francis is in the midst of transforming into Hawai‘i’s first one-stop shop for seniors and their caregivers.

“We have demonstrated that we can dramatically improve the quality of life for hospice patients and their family members, and now we would like to take our experience in caring and move it up earlier in a person’s life by offering a range of services for seniors and their caregivers,” Correa says.

Located at the St. Francis Liliha campus, the St. Francis Kupuna Village offers a variety of medical specialties, including a skilled nursing care facility known as The Villas. Operated by Ohana Pacific Management Company, the 119-bed post-acute care facility specializes in physician-ordered short-term rehabilitation to help loved ones recover before they return home or are transferred to a traditional long-term care facility. In addition to The Villas, phase one of the Liliha campus transformation brought in two new health services, Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience and Hawaii Diagnostic Radiology Services.

Still to come is the St. Francis Quality of Life Center, a senior community center offering wellness programs, caregiver training, healthy meals at an onsite bistro, and activities designed to encourage seniors to lead healthy, independent lives. The St. Francis Kupuna Village will also feature an adult day care program for seniors who can’t safely be left at home alone, allowing them to interact with other seniors while their family caregivers are at work during the day.

Caregiver support is a key component of St. Francis’ initiative to help kupuna age in place and keep pace with Hawai‘i’s aging population. “Caregiver education must be viewed as an important part of the healthcare ecosystem, not an afterthought,” Correa says. “To keep patients healthy and avoid preventable readmissions to the hospital, caregivers must be adequately armed with knowledge and training.”

Later phases of the St. Francis Kupuna Village will establish an assisted-living facility for seniors who need assistance with day-to-day tasks such as bathing, cooking, and cleaning. Independent-living units are also on the horizon in answer to the diverse needs of our ku-puna. St. Francis Healthcare System currently offers senior independent living at its ‘Ewa location, along with home and personal care services island wide. By providing these and other care options as well as hospice care across O‘ahu, St. Francis Healthcare System is making good on its founding promise of caring for Hawai‘i’s people.

It’s a legacy of service more than 130 years in the making, beginning when the Sisters of St. Francis first arrived in the islands in response to a plea from King Kalakaua and Queen Kapiolani during Hawai‘i’s leprosy epidemic of the late 19th century and early 20th century. Led by Saint Marianne Cope, the Sisters of St. Francis arrived in Hawai‘i in 1883 and eventually joined Father Damien, who, like Sister Marianne Cope, was granted sainthood for his work caring for those exiled to Moloka‘i and quarantined in a settlement on the island’s isolated Kalaupapa peninsula.

As one of the largest providers of multifaceted care options for seniors and family caregivers in the islands, St. Francis Healthcare System echoes the selfless efforts of the Sisters of St. Francis in offering services along the entire continuum of care to restore hope and dignity to populations in need.