News

FACEBOOK FUNDRAISER GAINS $400 FOR ALSFH FOR #GIVINGTUESDAY

May 13, 2020, Kailua, HI.  Participating in the global giving movement, #GivingTuesday, Divina Robillard started a fundraiser on her Facebook profile page with an initial goal of $200. Within two hours, the goal was met. “I was thrilled and awed! My network of close friends know how near and dear ALSFH is to my heart. Truly, the world continues to be generous despite Covid-19,” says a grateful Divina. To stimulate more giving, Divina pushed the goal post to $400, which…

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Governor Ige’s and Mayor Caldwell’s Proclamations

May 13, 2020, Kailua, HI. Both the State Capitol and Honolulu Hale are closed to the public because of health requirements due to the current pandemic. On May 8, Friday, Governor Ige’s Proclamation of May, 2020 as ALS Awareness Month was received via email. The hard copy was not available although it had been requested. May 8 would have been the day when the ALS Community in Hawaii attends a solemn celebration at the Ceremony Room at the State Capitol…

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A FRONTLINE NURSE’S EXPERIENCE WITH DAD’S ALS

May 13, 2020, Kailua, HI.   Norgen Orpilla Dalit was an experienced nurse from the Philippines when she came to the US in 1991. Her older sister, also a nurse, had sent her to nursing school, for which Norgen has remained specially thankful. While in the Philippines, she worked in the OR and OB-GYN Labor and Delivery. Prior to finally settling in the US, she first detoured to Saudi Arabia, becoming part of the huge nursing force recruited from the…

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MAY, 2020 AS ALS AWARENESS MONTH: WHAT’S HAPPENING, HAWAII?

Short answer is: None, in person. The past six years, Hawaii’s ALS Community celebrated May as ALS Awareness and Families Appreciation Month in many ways. Usually, the month starts with a series of Proclamations by local officials. The Governor’s Proclamation was read by the Governor in a solemn ceremony in the State Capitol Ceremony Room attended by patients, their families, caregivers, and representatives of the different service provider agencies in the state. With the pandemic continuing to rage in our…

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Gleason House for pALS: The House that a Post-Hurricane Celebrity Built

January 14, 2020, Kailua, HI: Tomorrow, coinciding with the opening of the 116th US Congress in Washington, a man in a power wheelchair will roll on to receive the US Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, the highest civilian award given by Congress. It had been given to only 163 civilian entities, the first recipient being George Washington- the first President of the nation – in 1776. Steve Gleason, is truly a man of destiny. His celebrity arises from the confluence…

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Godspeed, Paul H. Gagnon: Beloved Friend

December 26, 2019, Kailua, HI. If there were something you would take away, say, from a short meeting with Paul Gagnon, it would be that his eyes twinkled even if talking about something serious. You’d notice he would follow a profound statement with a witty remark. Then his cheeks would soon crease in folds as his smile breaks and reaches his eyes. That’s how I remember Paul, the mustachio’ed patriarch of his large clan: his thoughtful ideas, steadfast calmness despite…

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An Open Letter to Bill Gates, on the Occasion of Receiving the Professor Hawking Fellowship Award

  Dear Bill, I just read your 2019 Professor Hawking Fellowship lecture delivered in Cambridge. I am grateful that you have taken up global health as focus for your philanthropy. My background is public (international) health, so I understood every bit of your concern.  I was born in the Philippines when it was still a developing nation.  In 1976, after graduation from Nursing, I joined the faculty of the UP Institute of Health Sciences. At that time, it was creating…

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Brian Burke, Katherine’s Li’l Brother, Dies at 61

Brian Burke’s life story was not always a sad one.  He was born the youngest of five children to Cecilia and Darrell Burke.  Like any health boy, Brian grew up with his family, which included Big Sis Katherine, in Benton Harbor, Michigan.  Early life was the usual – elementary, high school, an Associate degree in college. He didn’t engage in any sport but football and basketball occupied his interest as a bed-bound spectator in the years he had ALS. Sometime before 2002, when…

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MAHALO, St. John Apostle and Evangelist Parish, for ALSFH Display Corner

July 23, 2019, Kailua, Hawaii. Last Saturday, July 20, 2019, The St. John Apostle and Evangelist (SJAE) Parish in Mililani staged its first ever Health and Well-being Fair at the Kipapa Park grounds. The fair was organized by the parish’s Health Ministry Committee, ably led by retired nurse Bonnie delos Santos. After the invocation and warmup Tai Chi exercises led by a community volunteer, Wini Fronda of Humana and parishioner Steven Santiago led the walk around the park perimeter. It…

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Mahalo to Pacific Business News for Featuring ALSFH in July Signature Event

July 20, 2019, Honolulu, HI. Every month for their Signature Events, Pacific Business News (PBN) features a non-profit the news journal determines best fits the theme for the event. Among others, the recognition awards inclusion of logo in the marketing instruments for the event, a display table to showcase the non-profit’s mission, lunch for two representatives from the NP, and an opportunity to network with the other participants. On July 18, 2019, PBN featured ALSFH for its signature event “State…

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