Ka‘ū News Briefs, Monday, April 11, 2022

National Park Week starts this Saturday, April 16 and runs through April 24 with many events, a fee-free day and

the return of ranger programs and the Dr. Jaggar living history walk. See more below. NPS Photo

ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE IS IN NEED OF MUCH IMPROVEMENT ON THIS ISLAND, according to a new study by Community First Hawai'i and its partners. The Access to Care survey found that over the past year, 49 percent of Hawai'i Island health care providers have considered reducing hours; 47 percent considered leaving medicine and 44 percent considered moving to the mainland. In addition, community members have reported long waiting times for appointments for such screening as cancer, leading to long delays in critical treatment.

Randy Kurohara, Executive

Director of Community First

    More than 75 percent of the community believes "lack of physicians" is the biggest barrier to accessing health care services. The study pointed to widespread shortages in medical specialists. Also noted are problems with transportation to see providers and the cost of health insurance.
    Other perceptions of the public and health providers: Psychiatry and mental health counseling are far and away the two professional areas needed most. Mental health services need to start in schools. There is a need to increase social services, including to the houseless, and a need for more addiction and recovery services.
    Randy Kurohara, Community First's Executive Director, gave Hawai'i Public Radio reporter Ku'uwehi Hiraishi an example of gaps in health care services on Hawai'i Island. Kurohara said, "We have a thing where some physicians say theyʻre accepting new patients. And if you ask the people in the community, theyʻre saying, weʻre calling but doctors arenʻt accepting new patients.Thereʻs sort of a disconnect there.”

     Community First and partners are finalizing a report that will be used in creating public policy and a plan to improve health care on this island. It has also extended its survey statewide for the month of April. See more at http://www.communityfirsthawaii.org. Take the survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/6ZJ6CCJ.

 

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/.See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano

NATIONAL PARK WEEK AT HAWAI'I VOLCANOES offers family fun events and ranger programs. Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park invites everyone "to celebrate a joyful National Park Week April 16 to 24 with a fee-free Saturday, a park discovery event for families, Kahuku events, volunteer opportunities, plus the much-anticipated return of ranger programs and the Dr. Jaggar living history performance." Saturday, April 16 is a fee-free day to kick off National Park Week. Enjoy free entrance to all fee-charging national parks in the U.S. including Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
    'Ohana Park Discovery Day invites families to explore the park and join in #sParkDiscovery by participating in a trading card collection challenge. Start at the welcome tent near the bus parking area at Kīlauea Visitor Center to receive a map with directions to six activity stations. Five stations are located within a half mile of the visitor center, with one station in the Hawaiʻi Pacific Parks Association store, and one station in Kahuku. Each station features a fun game, craft, or activity for the 'ohana to do together. Once an activity is complete, receive a trading card to color in. Collect five of the six cards and return to the welcome tent to receive a prize. The free entry to the park will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

    Storybook Trail at Puʻu o Lokuana Trail, Kahuku. Kahuku has a new self-guided storybook trail featuring Caren Lobel-Fried's book, Legend of the Gourd (Kamahoi Press). This book is a

Kahuku unit of Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park offers a new Storybook Trail. NPS photo magical re-telling of the story about the Children of the Gourd who live on the Kamāʻoa Plain in Kaʻū. Follow the storyboards along the trail to the top of Puʻu o Lokuana and read this illustrated tale along the way. At the top of the puʻu (hill), the panoramic view invites imagining the path of the gourd vine from Kamāʻoa to Kapuʻa. The storyboards are translated into ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language). Free entrance.    Kahuku is open Thursday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.The entrance is near the 70.5 mile marker in Kaʻū, about an hour drive south of the main park entrance.    Stewardship at the Summit offers a purposeful way to enjoy National Park Week by volunteering on Saturday, April 16 and Friday, April 22 at 8:45 a.m. with project leaders Paul and Jane Field at Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai.     Volunteer to help remove invasive, non-native plant species that prevent native plants from growing in Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, a World Heritage Site. Wear sturdy hiking shoes and long pants. Bring a hat, raingear, day pack, snacks and water. Gloves and tools are provided. Under 18? Parental or guardian accompaniment or written consent is required.       Hike with a ranger to the top of Maunaulu lava shield. NPS photo Explore the Summit with a Ranger is another National Park Week activity. Discover what makes Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park such special place. Take a short (up to a half-mile) walk with a ranger to explore the summit. Topics vary from geology, ecology, to Hawaiian culture. Check at Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai for more information on topics for the day, and to see additional offerings. Free (park entrance fees apply). The walk is daily at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Additional programs may be offered, check at Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai. Walk is about an hour. Meet at Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai.     Hike Mau Loa o Maunaulu. Discover Mau Loa o Maunaulu, the "Forever Growing Mountain." Hike with a ranger to the top of Maunaulu lava shield for panoramic views of the 1969-1974 eruption that crossed Chain of Craters Road multiple times, and dramatically changed the landscape. Learn about volcanology, geology, and their effect on the landscape. Develop an understanding of how Hawaiians observed and understood their relationship with these forces. Expect a moderately difficult four-mile hike over unstable terrain. Participants must be able to complete the hike, bring sun protection, have closed-toed shoes, and are required to bring water. Space is limited, get a free ticket at Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai the day of the program. Free (park entrance fees apply).     The hike is Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. (April 19 and 21 during NP Week). Tickets are available starting at 9 a.m. the day of the hike. Hike is about three to four hours. Meet at Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai.     A Walk into the Past with Dr. Thomas A. Jaggar takes participants back to 1912 to meet the founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Dr. Thomas A. Jaggar, at the edge of Kīlauea volcano. Dressed in period costume, Ka'ū actor-director Dick Hershberger brings the renowned geologist to life. Jaggar guides a short walk to the crater rim behind Volcano House, near his former lab. Learn what motivated Jaggar to dedicate his life to the study of Hawaiian volcanoes, and how his work helps save lives today.   Dick Hershberger of Ocean View is Dr. Thomas Jaggar in a Walk into the Past at Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. Photo from KDEN          Space is limited; pick up free ticket at the Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai the day of the program. Supported by Kīlauea Drama Entertainment Network. Free; park entrance fees apply. A Walk into the Past during National Parks Week is on Friday, April 22 at 10 a.m. and noon. Each performance is about an hour. Meet at Kīlauea Visitor Center.     Pu'u o Lokuana Cinder Cone. Join this one-hour, ranger-guided, 0.4-mile loop and enjoy a breathtaking view of lower Ka'ū and the wide Pacific Ocean from this scenic peak. Free entrance. The walk is Saturday, April 16 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Meet at Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. Entrance is located near the 70.5 mile marker in Kaʻū, about an hour drive south of the main park entrance.     Realms and Divisions of Kahuku. A moderately difficult, ranger-guided half-mile, 90-minute hike on Kamakapaʻa Trail, Sunday, April 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Meet at Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. The entrance is located near the 70.5 mile marker in Kaʻū, about an hour drive south of the main park entrance.     Birth of Kahuku. Explore the rich geologic history of Kahuku on this ranger-guided, two-hour, two-mile hike on Puʻu o Lokuana Trail on Saturday, April 23 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Meet at Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. The entrance is located near the 70.5 mile marker in Kaʻū, about an hour drive south of the main park entrance.      Kamehameha butterflies and hoary bats are among the species represented by Hawai'i Volcanoes in Merrie Monarch Parades. NPS photo Merrie Monarch Parade. Hulō! Cheer on park rangers and native plant and animal species who march in uniform and costume to celebrate the return of the Merrie Monarch Parade in downtown Hilo on Saturday, April 23, 10:30 a.m. until pau.     'Ōhi'a Lehua. Learn about the most prominent native tree in Kahuku on this easy, ranger-guided one-mile, 90-minute walk-and-talk-story program on Sunday, April 24 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Free entrance. Meet at Kahuku Unit Visitor Contact Station. The entrance is located near the 70.5 mile marker in Kaʻū, about an hour drive south of the main park entrance.     A statement from the Park says, "Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is excited to again offer scheduled and spontaneous park ranger guided programs and hikes, Dr. Jaggar living history, Stewardship at the Summit volunteer opportunities, and Kahuku programs." For events beyond National Park Week, check the park's online calendar: https://go.nps.gov/HVNP-events or stop by Kīlauea Visitor Center lānai or the Kahuku Visitor Contact Station. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see www.facebook.com/kaucalendar/.See latest print edition at www.kaucalendar.com. See upcoming events at https://kaunewsbriefs.blogspot.com/2022/03/upcoming-events-for-kau-and-volcano. See The Ka'u Calendar April edition at  www.kaucalendar.com, on newsstands and in the mail.