Jean Kumamoto, Gladys Ching and Lena Young are charter members of the Honolulu chapter of Amazing Care Network. Jean (Health Education Director) and Gladys (Clinic Administrator) were colleagues at Kaiser Hawaii for 36 years. Lena is Corporate Director of Operations and Human Resources for Japan Travel Bureau, Hawaii.
Jean: "Gladys had this bright idea of tapping into the people that she wanted to still be a part of her life after retirement and she met with us individually and asked us if we would be interested in joining this women's group that she was thinking of bringing together. And she formed this group called the Tuesday Connection. So it started off...'Learning, Lunching, Loving, Laughing, Lending a helping hand to the community.'"
Jean: "Our thinking started gravitating more toward 'how can we be of service?'...And so we formed a group that was affectionately called SLOW. Senior Living Options Work group. We started making visits to the various senior residences and we even came up with spread sheets to examine and describe and compare the differences between the residences. It really became a learning tool. It naturally evolved into an opportunity for us to be of service."
Gladys: "It was amazing...that's why it's Amazing Care, right? When Cora talked to us about it, we said, 'you know, that's kind of what we've started doing'. But we didn't have the financial part of it...that is different. We're already on this path, this journey."
Lena: "When Cora first spoke with me about ACN, I thought, this sounds interesting and I should try it out. So I did. And I also introduced her to Howard Lee at UHA Health Insurance. I sit on their board, so I connected them a few years ago relative to Sterling Administration. So now UHA has adapted Amazing Care for their employees. I'm wanting to see it grow from that perspective."
Jean: "As Gladys says, We were already beginning the journey that was Cora's vision. And with her vision, came the financial mechanism to actually be able to have the savings part."
Gladys: "One of the things I'd mentioned to some of the women when we were at one of the teas...I'm so grateful and thankful for all of the new relationships and friendships that have become a part of the Amazing Care Network experience. It's really opened up all these connections. It's been really exciting for me."
Lena: one of my observations...you notice that as the generations evolve...you notice that the families are smaller. I have only one child, and she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. So many others have only one or two children. Or none. So you have to look at your circle of friends as your extended family.
"We are not alone!"