UH Center on Aging
receives 2 grantsThe Center on Aging at the University of Hawaii-Manoa has been awarded $524,964 to continue its efforts to improve end-of-life care.
"End-of-Life Care for Hawaii's Ohana" received three years' funding ($394,277) from the Administration on Aging's National Family Caregiver Support Program so that it can work with its community partners to develop and offer culturally sensitive end-of-life information and training to support families who care for their older loved ones at home.
The HMSA Foundation has given the center $130,687 for a three-year project called "Appropriate (End-of-Life) Care of Residents in Nursing Homes."
The project will work with eight long-term care facilities on Oahu and Maui in an effort to increase the knowledge, skills and comfort of those who provide care to dying patients.
"America is a death-denying society, but despite all our technology, people will still die. People deserve excellent care at the end of life, which means that their pain is controlled and dignity is preserved," said Dr. Kathryn Braun, director of the Center on Aging and principal investigator for the grants.
"Caregivers need help with grieving, too, which is a natural response to losing a loved one."