I have high hopes for what we will do in Hawaii in terms of breaking new ground in caring for our kupuna by developing a program to reverse cognitive decline in a group setting. I am working to make this happen in the residential retirement community where I live, Pohai Nani in Kaneohe.
On Jan. 3, I and many other residents here watched the documentary film, “Memories for Life: Reversing Alzheimer’s” released toward the end of 2023. It tells the story of UCLA Professor Dale Bredesen, M.D., and his research into the multiple causes of Alzheimer’s, as well as his successful treatment of individuals across the mainland and in Japan. Interviews with people who have regained their memories are riveting.
When I read Bredesen’s book, “The First Survivors of Alzheimer’s,” a year ago, I offered to present his research in workshops; more than half of our residents attended and many expressed their desire to participate in his treatment protocol, which includes multiple interventions to detect and treat underlying infections, inflammation and toxicities, as well as lifestyle changes toward a plant-based diet, daily exercise and other optimal health habits.
We hope to become the first residential community to demonstrate the effectiveness of Bredesen’s program in a group setting. So far, all the reversals of Alzheimer’s — and many hundreds of cases are documented — have been done with individual patients. Here in Hawaii, families are often caring for their loved ones with cognitive decline at home because this seems the more compassionate choice, although it is a heavy burden since patients often need constant supervision.
We hope to find a medical professional — perhaps a doctor studying in the Gerontology Department of our John A. Burns Medical School — who is willing to develop and supervise a small pilot program based on Dr. Bredesen’s protocol. It would make a great Ph.D. research project. I have volunteers for such a program here, ranging from people with minimal symptoms (a name or word occasionally resists retrieval), to those who cannot find their way to the dining room without the guidance of a spouse or other caretaker.
I see Pohai Nani creating the model — a true gold standard for elder care — that could be duplicated in other retirement communities. Hawaii could become the best place to bring a relative to stay for an extended period in a residential community with a proven record for reversing memory loss. Our climate is ideal for walking and practicing tai chi outdoors. No place on the mainland can consistently offer this element of Bredesen’s protocol: daily exercise outdoors in good fresh air. Could state-of-the-art elder care become a new economic driver for Hawaii? I hope so!
I am also hoping that our local Pohai Nani Foundation will soon be able to buy our magnificent 17-acre property with its high-rise building and surrounding cottages and gardens from our parent organization, the nonprofit Good Samaritan Society located in South Dakota, which founded us 60 years ago. Good Samaritan has decided to limit itself to managing its retirement facilities in the states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas and Colorado. We are grateful for its visionary leadership when it built Pohai Nani in 1964, and we are grateful for the opportunity to manage our own future in the aloha spirit.
Since I taught grant-writing on the mainland before coming to teach at Hawaii Pacific University’s English department in 1992, I am planning to write a grant proposal to philanthropist Mackenzie Scott, who recently gave $5 million to the Hawaii Community Foundation for Maui fire recovery efforts in addition to the $10 million she gave the foundation in 2020 to support its Hawaii Resilience Fund. Clearly, Hawaii is a place she cares about and wants to thrive. Together, I hope we will make all the dreams I have described come true in 2024 so that everyone will have new hope for aging with grace.
Leilani Madison is an author who taught at Hawaii Pacific University’s English department until retiring in 2010.
