Isle meetings set to discuss care for aging population

"Hawaii's Senior Tsunami -- Finding Solutions from East Asia?" is the theme of an international aging conference scheduled in Honolulu Feb. 26-28.

Gerontologists from Hawaii, China, South Korea and Japan will share information and try to find solutions to the rapidly increasing global aging population.

The University of Hawaii-Manoa Center on Aging is sponsoring the meeting. Sessions will be held at the Imin Conference Center, East-West Center, and the Marriott and Pacific Beach hotels.

Cullen Hayashida, social gerontologist at Kapiolani Community Center, said the conference "is unique in that this is perhaps the first time that we have convened international presenters in aging to address innovative methods of delivering eldercare rather than addressing biomedical solutions."

Nearly every country in the Asia-Pacific region has a rapidly rising elderly population, the conference planners said on their Web site.

"Although living a long time is good news, few countries are prepared to manage the needs and demands of large numbers of elderly people and a shrinking number of young people to care for them," they said.

Other organizations supporting the conference are the UH School of Social Work and UH Center for Japanese Studies, State Executive Office on Aging, state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Volunteer Resource Center of Hawaii and Hale Makua Nursing Facility on Maui.

Kathryn Braun, director of the UH Center on Aging, may be contacted for more information at 330-1759, as well as Hayashida at 721-1201.

People interested in participating should call the Volunteer Resource Center at 236-9201 or see www.vrchawaii.org/activeaging to register. The fee for Feb. 27 only is $100; for three days it is $300.