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AN ARTICLE ABOUT ChangeAGEnts Hawaii President,  DR. CULLEN HAYASHIDA BY DR. WARREN WONG                  

             A BIG DECISION AT AGE 31                    

               A BIG HONOR in 2020

When Cullen Hayashida was 31 years old, he didn’t imagine that the Hawaii Pacific Gerontological Society (HPGS) would one day honor him for four decades of community service. At that time, Cullen was living in Cleveland and pursuing an academic career in the study of modern Japanese society. Gerontology and aging issues were NOT areas of interest.

However, in one of those twists in life, Cullen made the hard decision to leave Cleveland. Family considerations won out over his career; his daughter was having health problems with poor air quality. Cullen returned to Hawai'i without a job in sight. But Cullen persevered over a number of months and, in a chance meeting, impressed Richard Suehiro, Vice President at Kuakini Medical Center. Masa Tasaka, a visionary CEO, then gave Cullen the directive to learn about all things gerontology and healthcare. The rest is history.

Cullen, who is now President of ChangeAgentsHawaii, has been one of the champions of gerontology in Hawai’i. He has been involved in more than fifty initiatives in settings as diverse as the hospital, the home and the educational system. When interviewed, Cullen reflected on his long, hard, and ultimately successful work to restructure care homes to accommodate nursing home services with Medicaid funding. “We had to pull here and there and make sure we did things right.” The efforts resulted in frail elderly patients receiving care in more home-like environments while also reducing the number of patients waiting in hospital beds and creating more flexible jobs for the local population. As you would expect, Cullen is now living his “3rd Age” which he calls “Live Long, Die Short”. In 2019 he had an extended sabbatical in Tokyo teaching classes on aging in Japan and the issue of its declining population.  Cullen is now being recognized for his lifetime of service. Ever the advocate, Cullen wants efforts focused on the HPGS Scholarship Fund, which supports promising students in the field of gerontology. “The work is never done!!”

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Published in the Star Advertiser, EDITORIAL | ISLAND VOICES, April 28, 2020 

Even in the wake of COVID-19 and the gloomy news coverage of this pandemic, there are so many rays of sunshine in our community. We loved the article about seniors in high schools and how they are responsible and attentive to learn virtually with the guidance of our educators, parents and other community partners. We wanted to share all the hopeful and inspiring things that other “seniors” — our elders — are doing as well.

The kupuna are seasoned and valuable community resources, with a broad array of knowledge, life experience and expertise, and they are contributing their time, talent and know-how to address this global challenge. They are staying at home or working in safe environments providing a variety of services for others. They are our retired educators, helping through FaceTime, Skype and other social media, teaching our children how to read and write while out of school to supplement their virtual learning environment. Others are making and donating face masks and other personal protective equipment for those who interface with the public daily. Even in this time to “shelter in place,” our retired elders are offering virtual workshops, serving as volunteer mediators, and delivering meals. 

Our kupuna are retired doctors, carpenters, nurses, scientists, paramedics, respiratory therapists, unemployment specialists, housing employees, teachers, and many others who are coming forward. They are guiding government, institutions of higher education and businesses with their helping hands. It is not surprising then that we have depended on 79-year-old elder, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, to provide us with honest, evidence-based advice and guidance for our nation. Locally, the retiring CEO of Hawaiian Electric Alan Oshima has been recruited to help right our economic ship through these turbulent times.

Are we merely to “shelter in place” and step aside? Absolutely not! Although old age may eventually involve frailty, chronic illness and weakened immunity requiring assistance, there are so many of us who are productive. We are experienced, talented, skilled, well-connected and with time on our hands. We are Hawaii’s fastest-growing natural resource. To discount our ability to contribute would be an enormous waste of human resources that Hawaii cannot afford. Our kupuna wish to be useful, to matter and to leave a positive legacy.

Can we do more? We certainly can. There is much work that can be done to strengthen Hawaii’s social infrastructure to better marshal this human resource — our elders. It is why a new group called Change AGEnts Hawaii is emerging. We are active older adults committed to create and strengthen the support network to challenge and unleash the power and potential of the Boomer generation as agents for positive social change in Hawaii. We believe that by contributing, by serving, and by finding purpose beyond ourselves. Boomers can remain well, do good for their communities, and for generations to come. 

Contact us at changeagentshawaii@gmail.com to learn more.

Suzanne Chun Oakland and Cullen T. Hayashida are on the core leadership team of Change AGEnts Hawaii.

Published in the Star Advertiser, EDITORIAL | ISLAND VOICES, April 28,2020

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