LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i kicked off National Adult Day Services Week on Monday with Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. playing ‘ukulele for clients at the Kaua‘i Adult Day Health Center. The mayor was at the center, managed and operated by ‘Ohana Pacific
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i kicked off National Adult Day Services Week on Monday with Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. playing ‘ukulele for clients at the Kaua‘i Adult Day Health Center.
The mayor was at the center, managed and operated by ‘Ohana Pacific Foundation, to present its clients with a mayoral proclamation for the event. He borrowed an ‘ukulele from a staff member and serenaded the group with “Nanakuli” and “You Are My Sunshine.”
Carvalho said he is indebted to his grandparents, who raised him, and is aware of the need to care for kupuna.
The visit was made even more special when Carvalho discovered that a neighbor when he was growing up is a client at the adult day service center in Lihu‘e.
Sept. 19-25 is set aside to raise awareness of the important service provided by adult day services for older adults and persons with disabilities, states the proclamation.
Adult day service centers provide a coordinated program of professional and compassionate services for adults in a community-based group setting, offering social and some health services to adults who need supervised care in a safe place outside the home during the day.
These centers, while offering its services, also provide caregivers respite from the demanding responsibilities of caregiving.
The National Adult Day Services Association was formed in 1979 and, since then, has made great progress in promoting the concept of adult day services as a viable community-based care option for people.
With a 2010 theme of “Adults Day Services: A Smart Choice,” this special week has been celebrated annually across the nation since it was proclaimed on Sept. 27, 1983, by President Ronald Reagan.
Visit www.nadsa.org for more information.