End of life forum to discuss options for the terminally ill
Hawaiʻi is a state that is aging. By the year 2020, about 300,000 people will be over 65 years old. As Hawaiʻi’s population continues to age, end of life care—particularly for terminally ill patients—will become a matter of increasing concern for more and more working families.
To explore all the options available to those with a terminal illness, the University of Hawaiʻi’s Public Policy Center and the Matsunaga Institute for Peace are sponsoring a panel discussion on Thursday, February 23 on the topic, “End of Life: Public Policy for the Terminally Ill.”
The forum, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Hawaiʻi State Capitol Auditorium, includes Attorney General Douglas Chin, Dr. Charles Miller and John Radcliffe of Compassion and Choices Hawaii, and Dr. Craig Nakatsuka and Joy Yadao of Hawaii’s Partnership for Appropriate and Compassionate Care. The panel will be moderated by Judge Michael Broderick (Ret.), the President and CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu.
Advances in medicine mean that more local residents are caring for relatives in their final days, and many of them are facing difficult decisions about illness and death. Some 100 million Americans have a chronic disease, and a growing number of these chronically-ill people are asking for the right to take their own lives.
The intent of the forum is to identify different positions on the issue and, in the process, consider the consequences of alternative public policies for the terminally ill in an environment of tolerance and respect. The panel discussion is free and open to the public.
About the Panel
Judge Michael Broderick is the former director of the Judiciary’s Center for Alternative Resolution, the former Administrative Director of the State Courts, and a former Family Court Judge where he presided over more than 10,000 cases involving every type of family dispute. Over the course of his career, Judge Broderick has moderated or facilitated public forums on many controversial issues, including commercial leasehold, siting of public facilities, the State Hospital, homelessness, race, discrimination and identity politics in Hawaiʻi, and the Akaka Bill. He is currently the President and CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu.
Douglas Chin graduated from Stanford University and received his law degree from the University of Hawaiʻi’s William S. Richardson School of Law. Chin joined the Honolulu prosecutor’s office in 1996, where he tried approximately 50 jury cases to verdict. From 2010–2013, under Honolulu Mayor Peter Carlisle, Chin served as managing director for the City and County of Honolulu. From 2013–2015, Chin was a law partner and eventual managing partner at Carlsmith Ball, one of the oldest and largest law firms in the state of Hawaiʻi. Hawaiʻi Governor David Ige appointed Chin to become the state’s attorney general in January of 2015. He was unanimously confirmed by the Hawaiʻi State Senate on March 15, 2015.
Dr. Charles Miller is a retired oncologist, board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology and hematology. He is one of the founding members of the Physician Advisory Council for Aid in Dying (PACAID) for Compassion & Choices. He served for 30 years in the U.S. Army Medical Department where he was chief consultant to the surgeon general, and he spent nine years as Chief of Hematology at Kaiser Medical Center in Honolulu. Dr. Miller is a member of the Hawaii Society of Clinical Oncology and serves as the State Affiliate Representative to the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Craig Nakatsuka is an internal medicine specialist who recently retired after 34 years of service from Kaiser Medical Group. He has spent the past decade in the work of long-term care and palliative care. Most recently, he spent time mentoring health are teams in providing patient-centered care. He is a spokesperson for Hawaiʻi’s Partnership for Appropriate Compassion and Care.
John Radcliffe is a Stage 4 terminal cancer patient and advocate for medical aid in dying in Hawaiʻi. He is co-founder and president emeritus of Capitol Consultants of Hawaiʻi. He is a veteran union leader, educator, writer, speaker, lecturer and governmental and political action specialist. During the past three decades, Radcliff has been involved in more political campaigns in Hawaiʻi than maybe any other person. He’s been an active lobbyist at the state and national level for 40 years.
Joy Yadao is a registered nurse with over 25 years of experience in nursing leadership and in the specialties of pediatrics, oncology, case management, end-of-life care, advanced care planning and healthcare quality. Yadao is the former executive director of the St. Francis Hospice and Palliative Care Program and was the former Hawaii Clinical Improvement Coach for the CMS Partnership for Patients program. She is currently managing an Advance Care Planning initiative recently funded by Medicare, and is a founding board member of Kokua Mau, Hawaii’s Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
