COVID-19 Made it Clear We Need to Care for Caregivers
April 28, 2021USC
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, life was plenty busy for Jason Trujillo and his family.
He and his wife, Sherrie Jong, had two children, ages 4 and 1. Jong a civil engineer was the family’s breadwinner as Trujillo completed his first year at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. As the couple raised their family and juggled work and school, Jong’s parents, Engie and Monty, were getting older; 82-year-old Monty especially struggled to see and hear.
When they found out Monty had Alzheimer’s disease, the family knew he needed someone to care for him. That job fell to Trujillo. At first, he resented the stressful and unexpected role. But his mother helped him put things in perspective. “She said, ‘I didn’t raise you to leave an old man that needs help. Take care of this,’” he recalls. “She was 100% right.”
With unanimous, bipartisan support, legislation to increase access to critical healthcare services has passed the Assembly’s Aging and Long-Term Care Committee. AB 540, authored by Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, will help more seniors remain in their homes and in our communities by improving beneficiary awareness and increasing access to the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE).
“We need to prepare our healthcare systems to adapt and accommodate California’s rapidly aging population,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach). “PACE provides our most vulnerable seniors with affordable, high quality and comprehensive care, saving money and helping seniors age in place. PACE has saved the state tens of millions of dollars annually this is a true win-win.”
Members of Da’ Hawaii Seniors Club (DHSC) of Cerritos have not been able to have in-person meetings since March of 2020, but members did elect their Board members in January of 2021. Most of the members who served on the Board in 2020 were not able to complete all the programs and activities they had planned for 2020, so they volunteered to be re-elected and continue to serve as Board members in 2021. The Board filled the final position of Co-Recording Secretary at the last Board meeting in February to officially complete the Board for 2021.
The members of Da’ Hawaii Seniors Club appreciate the volunteer work of all their Board members. The elected members of Da’ Hawaii Seniors Club Board for 2021 are as follows: Co-Presidents, Carmelita Tiongson and Donald Izumihara; CO-1st Vice-Presidents for Programs, Sherrie Dixon and Marion Tesoro; Co-2nd Vice-Presidents for Membership, Janie Aguirre and Myrna Matsuno; Co-3rd Vice-Presidents for Public Performance, Hedy Anduha, Frances