Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 33, Number 7, 1 July 2016 — New law recognizes unpaid family caregivers [ARTICLE]

New law recognizes unpaid family caregivers

Hawai'i's new CARE Act will

make it easier for unpaid family caregivers to receive the tools they need to keep their ailing and aging family members and friends at home, instead of in expensive institutions. Hawai'i hospitals will now have to adopt updated federal regulations that require them to explain and demonstrate the medical and nursing tasks that might be expected from caregivers after the patient returns from the hospital. The CARE act also ensures the caregiver's name is recorded when the patient is admitted to the hospital, that the caregiver is notified when the patient is transferred or released and that the caregiver receives instruction on medication management, injections, wound care and other needs the patients may have.