The “I Love Hula” event from 3 to 4 p.m. on June 9 is sure to draw tears of joy and remembrance as kumu hula Darcey Moniz presents the current group of ladies comprising Puka‘ikapuaokalani Hula Studio, which was founded 50 years ago by Moniz’s auntie, the beloved Ellen Castillo. Castillo began teaching hula in her Waimanalo garage and as more students joined, she established the Puka‘ikapuaokalani Hula Studio in Kailua. Moniz was asked to take the helm of the halau after Castillo passed away last year at the age of 74. Moniz remains true to the rich tradition of Puka‘ikapuaokalani Hula Studio in honor of her auntie, who was one of the most respected kumu hula in the Islands. Puka‘ikapuaokalani Hula Studio has competed for many years in the Merrie Monarch Hula Festival on the Big Island, the Miss Aloha Hula Contest in Hilo and the Queen Lili‘uokalani Keiki Hula Competition on Oahu.

On June 22 from 4 to 5:30 p.m., don’t miss the Hawaiian musical trio Holunape, comprising Kama Hopkins, Kekoa Kaluhiwa and Kanai‘a Nakamura. Their debut album “He ‘Olu” won “Best Traditional Album” at the 2006 Hawaii Music Awards and “Group of the Year” and “Best Use of the Hawaiian Language” at the 2006 Na Hoku Hanohano Awards. The Hawaiian word “holunape” refers to gentle swaying motion, like a coconut frond in a light, tropical breeze. Hopkins, Kaluhiwa and Nakamura think that’s a great description of the “nahenahe” (soothing) music they perform.

“We are so glad that Darcey Moniz is continuing a great family tradition as kumu hula to Puka‘ikapuaokalani Hula Studio, a Kailua ‘ohana that has taught literally generations of young ladies the beauty of Hawaiian, Tahitian and Polynesian dance,” said Terry George, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation. “We are sure Auntie Ellen will be at this special ‘I Love Hula’ performance in spirit, watching over her niece, Darcey, and the halau as they honor her memory with hula.”

George said having Holunape perform at “Kanikapila in Kailua” continues to elevate that concert series as one of the best in Hawaii.

“Kama, Kekoa and Kanai‘a have a deep love and respect for both traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music that is evident in their performances,” George said. “We invite our friends and neighbors from the Windward side and across the island to kick off summer in Kailua at both of these performances – ‘I Love Hula’ on June 9 and ‘Kanikapila in Kailua’ on June 22.”

“Kanikapila in Kailua” — founded in partnership with noted Hawaiian composer, producer and slack key artist Kawika Kahiapo — and the “I Love Hula” series are a continuing effort by the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation to present the best of Hawaiian song and dance on the Windward side. “Kanikapila in Kailua” takes place most third Saturdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in the parking garage behind Longs Drugs. “I Love Hula” runs most second Sundays from 3 to 4 p.m. at the stage area between Pier 1 and Macy’s. Attendees are encouraged to grab a plate lunch from one of their favorite Kailua eateries and bring a beach chair to enjoy these free programs.

For more information about the shows, call the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation at 263-7073 or check for updates to the 2013 performance schedule at www.castlefoundation.org.

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The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation, the largest private foundation headquartered in Hawaii, is committed to closing the achievement and preparation gaps in public education so that all Hawaii’s children have access to high-quality pre-K-12 education that prepares them for success in college, career and citizenship. Its grants also focus on restoring nearshore marine ecosystems and strengthening Windward Oahu communities.

“The introduction of the new Quarter Pounder Burger line is part of McDonald’s broader efforts to evolve our menu with more great-tasting food choices,” said Melanie Okazaki, regional marketing manager of McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii. “The Quarter Pounder Burgers offer our customers unique ingredients and flavors, paired with the same great-tasting burger we are known for.”

The new Quarter Pounder Burger line includes three varieties to choose from – the Bacon Habanero Ranch, Deluxe, and Bacon & Cheese, ranging from 540 to 610 calories. The burgers debut McDonald’s new thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, now available on all existing menu items featuring bacon.

From June 18 to 20, customers who try a new Quarter Pounder Burger will receive a “Buy One, Give One Free” deal, where any purchase of a Quarter Pounder Burger includes a second burger free to give to a friend. Customers are encouraged to share their favorite new Quarter Pounder Burger experiences via social media by using the hashtag #myQPflavor and following @McDonaldsHawaii.

About McDonald’s New Quarter Pounder Burgers

Customers can choose from three new varieties:

• Bacon Habanero Ranch: Quarter Pounder Burger with white cheddar (pasteurized process), new thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a spicy habanero ranch sauce

• Deluxe: Quarter Pounder Burger with American cheese, tomato, lettuce, crinkle-cut pickle slices, red onion, mayonnaise, and mustard

• Bacon & Cheese: Quarter Pounder Burger with new thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, American cheese, crinkle-cut pickle slices, red onion, ketchup, and mustard

McDonald’s customers will still be able to order the classic Quarter Pounder with Cheese, made with a quarter pound* of 100 percent pure beef simply seasoned with a pinch of salt and pepper, two slices of melty cheese, ketchup, mustard, slivered onions and tangy pickles all on a sesame seed bun.

For more information about the new Quarter Pounder Burgers and McDonald’s full line of menu choices, including nutrition information, visit www.McDonalds.com.

*weight before cooking 4 oz.

About McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii

McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii has 85 restaurants and more than 5,200 employees in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan. In Hawaii alone, the company has 75 restaurants and more than 4,600 employees. McDonald’s total economic impact on the state yearly, directly and indirectly, is about $370 million in spending and nearly 12,000 jobs in the community. McDonald’s prides itself on offering career opportunities to employees, with most managers staying with the company for more than 18 years. Follow McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii on Twitter at @McDonaldsHawaii.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options, including wholesome choices, made from quality ingredients to more than 26 million customers every day. Nearly 89 percent of McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at approximately 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald’s U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter (@McDonalds) and Facebook (Facebook.com/McDonalds) for updates on our business, promotions and products.

The following trademarks used herein are owned by McDonald’s Corporation and its affiliates: McDonald’s, Quarter Pounder. © 2013 McDonald’s

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Eighty CPR-Infant Anytime kits from AHA were made available to NICU and PICU families to help provide a life-saving skill and give parents the knowledge, sense of security and empowerment to perform infant CPR if and when their child needs it. NICU and PICU are where highly complicated and life-saving procedures are performed for newborns to teens.

“Layton/dck are happy to provide these CPR kits to Kapi‘olani Medical Center’s NICU and PICU families,” said Eric Tessem, dck pacific senior vice president and general manager. “Healthcare has always been top of mind for our company and we want to give back to an industry that provides a great amount of services to those in need of critical care.

Layton/dck are currently providing pre-construction services for a new NICU and PICU facility at Kapi‘olani. The 200,000-square-foot building will replace the old Bingham parking structure. The redevelopment of the facility will expand from 46 beds to 70 beds, but with no extra beds to the PICU. The project is scheduled to break ground in February 2014 and be completed by March 2016. This past February, dck pacific completed the expansion of Kapiʻolaniʻs 17-story, 1,000-car parking garage off Bingham Street.

In further support of Hawaii’s hospital and healthcare industry, proceeds from dck pacific’s “health and wellness” golf tournament will benefit Kapiʻolani Medical Center, Castle Medical Center, The Queen’s Medical Center and the American Heart Association. More than 200 golfers have signed up for the tournament, which will be held on Friday, June 7 at Kapolei Golf Course.

About dck pacific construction

dck pacific construction has been serving Hawaii for nearly 75 years as one of the state’s largest full-service general contractors. The company’s award-winning portfolio features many of the most prominent retail, hospitality, health care and military projects in the Pacific Rim. dck pacific construction’s parent company is dck worldwide, LLC, a global construction company specializing in developing, managing and building highly complex projects. dck worldwide provides design-build, program management, construction management and general construction services to corporations, developers and government entities. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, dck worldwide operates in North America, Guam, the Pacific Rim, the Caribbean and the Middle East.

For more information about dck, please visit www.dckww.com.

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Moms In Hawaii and McDonald’s of Hawaii will kick off their “Reading Rocks!” book club on June 3, which will include great events and incentives to encourage kids to read. Reading Rocks will continue through July 6.

“We want to help our Island keiki learn that reading is fun, and what better way to kick start their excitement about summer reading than to hang out with Ronald McDonald himself and read great books?” said Esme Infante Nii, Chief Executive Mom of Moms In Hawaii. “After reading with Ronald McDonald, there will be an ‘after party’ at McDonald’s of Kapolei West with games and giveaways and a secret ‘celebrity reader!’”

The “Reading Rocks!” celebration begins with a meet-up at the Kapolei Public Library on June 3 from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. to attend “It’s Book Time With Ronald McDonald.” This “read out loud” event is open to the public.

The Moms In Hawaii “after party” will take place at McDonald’s of Kapolei West at 4600 Kapolei Parkway from noon to 1:30 p.m. There will be a “book swap” for children and adults (gently used books, please!) with any remaining books donated to Kapolei Public Library. There also will be a surprise “celebrity reader,” a product sampling provided by McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii, and games and prize giveaways. Lunch is “no-host.”

Admission is free; seats are limited. Reservations are required to attend the “after party.” To reserve a spot, go to MomsInHawaii.com and leave a post about which book from the Hawaii State Library’s recommended summer-reading lists you and/or your child are reading or planning to read. (The list can be found online at MomsInHawaii.com and on the State Library Summer Reading Program Web page at http://bit.ly/16LHdhV.)

A “Reading Rocks!” social media campaign will also continue until July 6. On Instagram or Twitter, post pictures of the books you and/or your child is reading and include the hashtag #MIHReadingRocks. Moms In Hawaii will randomly pick winners from the posts to receive special prizes.

About Moms In Hawaii:

Moms In Hawaii is a free local online and “in real life” community whose mission is “Moms Empowering Moms.” MIH connects mothers across the Islands, offering information, mom-to-mom support, events and promotions to help keep moms and their families healthy and happy, all while adding some fun along the way! Moms In Hawaii’s Founding Sponsors are McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii and The Queen’s Medical Center. Supporting Sponsors are First Hawaiian Bank, Blue Planet Foundation and Meadow Gold Dairies. Hawaii News Now is Media Sponsor.

To connect with Moms In Hawaii, start by registering on its free website at

www.momsinhawaii.com. The Moms In Hawaii community also can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

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Founded on August 11, 1911, First Insurance Company of Hawaii, Ltd. is the oldest and largest property and casualty insurer domiciled in Hawaii, with assets of $681.1 million, liabilities of $416.6 million and policyholders’ surplus of $264.5 million as of September 30, 2012. First Insurance, a member of the Japan-based Tokio Marine Group, enjoys an “A+” (superior) rating from A.M. Best Co., whose ratings are widely recognized as a benchmark of an insurer’s financial strength. Proud of its broadly experienced, service-oriented staff, First Insurance employs more than 300 insurance professionals and distributes its products through 29 independent general agencies. It has claims personnel on Oahu, Kauai, Maui and the Big Island.  

Follow First Insurance on Twitter (@FirstInsHI) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FirstInsHI).

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HONOLULU – Hawaii is ranked 6th for senior health, according to the inaugural edition of United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings® Senior Report: A Call to Action for Individuals and Their Communities

United Health Foundation commissioned the America’s Health Rankings Senior Report to examine the health challenges affecting today’s seniors and to encourage the nation and local communities to find ways to improve senior health. Americans are living longer but sicker lives and America’s senior population is poised to grow more than 50 percent between 2015 and 2030, making senior health a timely and critical national issue.

The America’s Health Rankings Senior Report is the most comprehensive rankings to date of senior health on state levels and can be viewed and downloaded at www.americashealthrankings.org. This report builds on the annual America’s Health Rankings report which, for 23 years, has presented the definitive analysis of national health on a state-by-state basis by evaluating a historical and comprehensive set of health, environmental and socioeconomic data to determine national health benchmarks and state rankings.

“United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings Senior Report is a highly valuable tool to help gain a greater understanding of the health challenges faced by Hawaii’s seniors,” said Ron Fujimoto, M.D., chief medical officer, UnitedHealthcare’s Community Plan for Hawaii. “Hawaii’s growing senior population points to the urgency of identifying key opportunities for improving senior health and pursuing effective solutions at the national, state, community and family levels.”

The America’s Health Rankings Senior Report assesses state-level performance on 34 different elements, including both health determinants and health outcomes.

Hawaii’s Bill of Health

The America’s Health Rankings Senior Report finds that Hawaii has its share of strengths and challenges for senior health.

Hawaii’s Strengths

• Low prevalence of obesity
• Low prevalence of activity-limiting arthritis pain
• Low geriatrician shortfall

Hawaii’s Challenges

• High prevalence of underweight seniors
• Low percentage of social support
• Low percentage of hospice care

Among all 50 States: Minnesota leads the nation for senior health, followed by Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Iowa. Mississippi ranks 50th, preceded by Oklahoma, Louisiana, West Virginia, and Arkansas.

Nationwide, preventable chronic health conditions at troubling levels among seniors

Older Americans are experiencing troubling rates of chronic health conditions, according to the Senior Report. About 80 percent of seniors are living with at least one chronic health condition, while 50 percent of seniors have two or more chronic health conditions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the report finds that more than 25 percent of seniors nationwide are obese.

“Chronic illness is unnecessarily high among seniors,” said Rhonda Randall, D.O., senior advisor to United Health Foundation and chief medical officer, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “The coordination of care for seniors, particularly the 50 percent of the population with multiple chronic illnesses, is complex and increases pressure on our country’s caregivers and our health care system.”

UnitedHealthcare Programs Address Health Needs of Hawaii’s Seniors

Through its portfolio of Medicare plans, UnitedHealthcare supports Medicare beneficiaries in Hawaii with clinical solutions that help address health concerns underscored in the America’s Health Rankings Senior Report. These programs include:

• Integrated disease management and care coordination programs, which provide selected Medicare Advantage plan members with chronic health conditions – such as diabetes or certain types of heart disease – needed resources and support;

• UnitedHealthcare’s HouseCalls program, offering qualified Medicare Advantage plan members an at-home visit with a health care practitioner to assess health needs and discuss personal health concerns;

• UnitedHealthcare’s PharmAssist service, which provides selected Medicare Advantage plan members with one-on-one counseling sessions with specialty-trained plan pharmacists to understand how to take their medications as prescribed.

About America’s Health Rankings® Senior Report

America’s Health Rankings® Senior Report: A Call to Action for Individuals and Their Communities offers a comprehensive analysis of senior population health on a national and state-by-state basis across 34 measures of senior health. In commissioning the report, United Health Foundation seeks to promote discussion around the health of Americans 65 years and older while driving communities, governments, stakeholders, families and individuals to take action to improve senior health.

Researchers drew data from more than 12 government agencies and leading research organizations to create a focused, uniquely rich data set for measuring senior health at the state level, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Department of Labor, The Dartmouth Atlas Project, the National Foundation to End Senior Hunger and the Commonwealth Fund.

In addition to producing the America’s Health Rankings Senior Report, United Health Foundation also produces the annual America’s Health Rankings® report. For 23 years, America’s Health Rankings has provided an analysis of national health on a state-by-state basis by evaluating a historical and comprehensive set of health, environmental and socioeconomic data to determine national health benchmarks and state rankings. The Rankings employs a unique methodology, developed and annually reviewed by a Scientific Advisory Committee of leading public health scholars.

For more information on both reports, visit www.americashealthrankings.org.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 780,000 physicians and other health care professionals and 5,900 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 40 million people in health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.

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Okamura joined Moms In Hawaii on May 13 after leaving her position as Hawaii Pacific Entertainment’s Director of Client Services and Promotions. As Community Building Mom at Moms In Hawaii, Okamura will help broaden Moms In Hawaii’s outreach to mothers, as well as help strengthen relationships with businesses.

“We are extremely excited to have someone of Nicole’s experience and expertise in client services, promotions and event planning to help us get to the next level in our expansion plans,” said MIH Chief Executive Mom Esme Infante Nii. “Nicole’s background in social media is an additional talent we need at this important growth period for Moms In Hawaii.”

Nii said Okamura, who has two children, also understands “mom culture” and its key issues and will help Moms In Hawaii become even more successful in its mission of “Moms Empowering Moms.”

Okamura worked for three years for Hawaii Pacific Entertainment (HPE), a major media and entertainment company, overseeing new client acquisitions and client services; providing online and offline client promotional opportunities in both traditional and social media platforms; and handling HPE’s sales department, among other duties.

“As a mother of two beautiful children, I deeply appreciate the networking, information and activities that Moms In Hawaii provides for the hundreds of thousands of people it touches via MomsInHawaii.com and other social media channels, multimedia, partnerships, events and promotions,” Okamura said. “I look forward to helping Moms In Hawaii put on more great events and expand its support for moms everywhere.

A graduate of St. Andrew’s Priory School, Okamura earned a degree in communications from the University of Hawaii. Aside from working with Hawaii Pacific Entertainment, her career includes work at Kamehameha Schools, Blanche Pope Elementary School, Island Partners Hawaii, Matsumoto & Clapperton Advertising, KGMB-9 TV and Cox Radio.

About Moms In Hawaii:

Moms In Hawaii is a free local online and “in real life” community whose mission is “Moms Empowering Moms.” MIH connects mothers across the Islands, offering information, mom-to-mom support, events and promotions to help keep moms and their families healthy and happy, all while adding some fun along the way! Moms In Hawaii’s Founding Sponsors include McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawaii and The Queens Medical Center. Supporting Sponsors include First Hawaiian Bank, Blue Planet Foundation and Meadow Gold Dairies. Hawaii News Now is Media Sponsor.

To connect with Moms In Hawaii, start by registering on its free website at www.momsinhawaii.com. The Moms In Hawaii community also can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.

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