Hawaii Island based advocates joined volunteers from other islands at the state capitol Monday for legislative visits in support of the CARE Act. AARP Hawaii is part of a coalition supporting legislation to help unpaid family caregivers faced with a growing complexity of care.
The legislation is intended to help families whose loved ones are admitted to a hospital by allowing patients to designate a caregiver on the medical record, ensuring the caregiver is notified prior to a loved one’s discharge or transfer to another facility and requiring hospitals to offer after-care instructions to the caregiver prior to discharge in the medical tasks needed to be performed when the patient goes home. The bill is part of the Kupuna Caucus legislative package. Similar legislation has been passed in 18 states since 2014, and none – including the Hawaii bill – has called for a state appropriation.