County announces
free COVID-19
testing schedule
Free COVID-19 drive-through testing will be provided at several sites this week, Hawaii County announced Friday.
On Monday, testing will be available from 9 a.m. to noon at the Keauhou Shopping Center and at the Hilo Civic Audiotorum. On Tuesday, testing will be offered from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Keaau High School.
On Wednesday, testing returns to the Keauhou Shopping Center from 9 a.m. to noon and from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Hilo Civic Auditorium. On Thursday, testing will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Volcano Cooper Center.
On Friday, testing will be available from 9 a.m. to noon at the Keauhou Shopping Center and at the Hilo Civic Audiotorum.
No insurance is necessary to be tested, but those seeking testing should bring their insurance card if they have one. No co-pay for individuals being tested.
For more information, call Civil Defense at 935-0031.
Telephone forum
to cover telehealth
AARP Hawaii is holding a telephone town hall with Lt. Gov. Josh Green and other experts on using telemedicine technology to safely visit your doctor or other health professional during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The “Healthcare During Covid 19 — Is Telehealth an Option for You?” telephone forum will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. To participate, sign up to receive a phone call at www.vekeo.com/aarphawaii or watch a simulcast on the AARP Hawaii Facebook page.
The use of virtual doctor visits has increased 300% among Medicare-eligible kupuna since the pandemic began, according to a health insurance industry survey conducted this summer. Panelists will explain how telemedicine works, how it is paid for and how to participate in a virtual doctor visit.
Besides Green, Deborah Birkmire Peterson with the Pacific Basin Telehealth Resource Center, Moani Wright Van-Alst from HMSA and Dr. Chris Miura from Kaiser Permanente will talk about telehealth and answer questions from people who sign up to join the telephone town hall.
The telephone forum is similar to a radio call-in show, but is over the telephone. Residents who register will get a phone call at 10 a.m. Tuesday inviting them to join the forum. The forum is free and AARP membership is not required to participate.
Online forum to cover climate crisis
The coalition La Hoolu Pae Moku/ReTree Hawaii, which is preparing a statewide tree planting day Oct. 30 to help mitigate climate change and bring the other benefits of increased forest coverage to the islands, is holding a public forum on the climate crisis and Hawaii on Sept. 30.
Speakers from academia, politics, conservation and youth leadership will discuss the threats of climate change to Hawaii, what is being done about them, what needs to be done and what we all can do. The forum can be watched at 5 p.m. Wednesday on Facebook Live at facebook.com/ReTreeHawaii/live and on Youtube Live at bit.ly/climate-youtube.
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