Hospice Hawai’i places nationally for social media video

A video depicting the story of a terminally ill woman who wished to feel the ocean one last time has won a national award for social media.

Hospice Hawai‘i announced it recently received a national award for "The Homecoming," which won second place in the social media video category of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s Creative Arts Contest.

"The Homecoming" depicts the story of a patient who wished to feel the embrace of the ocean one last time, and how Hospice Hawai‘i and her family made it happen. The patient relives her love of hula, and the video is accompanied by the song "Lovely Hula Hands."

"‘The Homecoming’ was inspired by a true story, and is a wonderful example of how we care for patients and their families," said Kenneth L. Zeri, president and chief professional officer of Hospice Hawai‘i. "Each patient we work with has different needs, aspirations and loves. It is our responsibility to ensure that every patient’s end-of-life experience happens the way they value it. We are honored that the NHPCO selected ‘The Homecoming’ as an outstanding depiction of the theme of diversity."

To watch the video, go to www.hospicehawaii.org/homecoming.

Other honors

» Winners of the KTA Super Stores Design-A-Bag artwork contest included:

Grand-prize winners Alon Halsted, E.B. de Silva Elementary, second grade; Romilly Benedict, Waimea Middle Public Conversion Charter School, eighth grade; and Grayson Mento, Hilo High School, 12th grade.

Each winner received a field trip for his or her class, 500 extra Kokua i Na Kula points for his or her school, and inclusion of the winning piece of artwork on a reusable bag to be sold in the future at KTA Super Stores.

Hawaii island students in grades kindergarten through 12 were asked to create an image inspired by this year’s theme, "What Do You Value?" More than 1,300 pieces of artwork were submitted and judged based on originality and creativity; artistic technique; overall impression; and appropriateness to theme.

» University of Hawaii at Manoa physics professor Sandip Pakvasa has received an Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, which will allow Pakvasa to travel to Germany to continue ongoing collaboration with colleagues. Pakvasa is one of the world’s leading experts on neutrinos and heavy quarks in elementary particle physics, the university said in a news release.

Pakvasa, author of more than 340 scientific publications, has proposed a number of experiments that have been carried out at international particle physics laboratories.

» Two Mililani High School students won first and second place at the Pacific Symposium for Science and Sustainability, winning cash scholarships and a spot in a national competition in the spring.

Eleventh-grader Viola Mocz took first place for her research, "New Ideas in Physics: The Mass Ratio of Elementary Particles From Torus Geometry." Glenn Galvizo, 12th grade, took second for "Engineering a Blind Sensory Stick to Aid the Visually Impaired."

Both students will represent Hawaii at the 2013 Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. In addition, Kamehameha Schools junior Nathan Lee took fourth place and was invited to attend the national competition as an observer.

» University of Hawaii at Manoa electrical engineering professor Anders Host-Madsen was elected a fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a UH news release said.

Host-Madsen’s research interests are in statistical signal processing, information theory and wireless communications, including ad-hoc networks, cooperative diversity, wireless sensor networks, heart monitoring and signal processing for underwater acoustics.