After closing its doors to inpatient services last year, Pohai Malama will be reopening as an adult residential care home beginning next year.
Hawaii Care Choices, formerly Hospice of Hilo, earlier this month announced the opening of the Pohai Malama Adult Residential Care Home to a room full of board members, supporters and community leaders.
The former 12-bed hospice and palliative care inpatient facility, located at 590 Kapiolani St. in Hilo, was closed in November 2022 after operating for 10 years due to changing preferences from patients, many who preferred to be treated in their homes.
While Hawaii Care Choices has continued to provide hospice care to patients in homes throughout Hilo, leadership wanted to make use of the building, which was built by the donations and support of the community years ago.
“When I joined Hawaii Care Choices 33 years ago, the goal was always to continue to make sure we look at the community and its needs,” said CEO Brenda Ho. “We were the first neighbor island inpatient hospice care facility, and that achievement happened because of the community. This building helped us touch many lives, but times change, and we now needed to find the best use for this building.”
Hawaii Care Choices leadership and the Board of Directors, as well as community leaders, found that opening Pohai Malama as a residential care home focused on memory care would be best due to the limited services on the island.
“Everyone worked extremely hard during an emotional and stressful endeavor, but we found that the elderly, the people who need assisted living opportunities, did not have much available to them,” Ho said. “There are also limited resources for folks experiencing memory loss, so this is an expansion of what we’re already doing as hospice care.”
During the open house event Dec. 15, Hawaii Care Choices introduced Adult Residential Care Home Administrator Napualani Puniwai, who will be running the facility with a 24/7 staff and creating a home for 12 people.
“My main goal was to make this a true home for the people who live here, because this is their home,” Puniwai said. “They can put out pictures, invite their families and do activities at their leisure, just like they could at home.”
Since announcing Pohai Malama’s transition earlier this year, Hawaii Care Choices has made minor changes to the building to make sure it serves its future residents as well as possible.
The residents each will have a furnished suite with a personal bathroom and their own lanai with a table and chairs. Outside the suites are display cases where they can place photos of their family and friends and artwork.
There are common areas throughout the building with couches, books and games, which will give residents the chance to socialize with each other as well as their visitors.
There is a dedicated craft and art room, a music room with a piano, ukulele and guitar, a meditation room and a spa room for full-body baths and haircuts.
“We have been reconfiguring everything, so people staying here have everything they need,” said Lani Weigert, engagement marketing manager. “We’re working with some residential care homes in the area now, because we’re not looking to replace anything, but add on to the inventory and give people more options.”
During the open house, Ho and Puniwai gave tours of the building and discussed future programs for residents. Memory care is a top priority for Hawaii Care Choices because there are not many facilities that have specific programs to treat people with illnesses such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.
“People shouldn’t have to go off island to get the compassionate care that we want to give them in this difficult journey of a life-limiting illness,” Ho said. “We have amazing people and the expertise to spread this out into the community and bring more memory care into our hospice homes, as well. The need is significant.”
During the open house event, leadership made sure to thank all in attendance for consistent support through all of the changes and stages of Hawaii Care Choices.
“We are extraordinarily proud of the past 10 years and everything that’s happened in these hallways, which was only possible through your gifts of resources, time, money, support and hands,” said Lori Jordan, director of organizational excellence and advancement. “You have helped improve the lives of everyone we touch, and we thank you so much. We look forward to continuing to share the activities and the movement of Pohai Malama and our many other programs.”
Ho said the Hawaii Care Choices team is confident they can open in January, although they are awaiting a license from the state Department of Health.
Those interested in applying for residency can call the Pohai Malama office and request an application at (808) 969-1733.
For more information about hospice, palliative and bereavement care programs, as well as Pohai Malama, visit hawaiicarechoices.org.
Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
