Driving and Dementia: Balancing Safety, Independence, and Dignity

Gina Fujikami, MD, is Division Chief of Geriatrics at The Queen’s Medical Center. She earned her MD from the University of Hawaii (UH) John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) and completed a Geriatric Medicine fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Fujikami is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Geriatric Medicine at JABSOM and serves as a member of the Alzheimer’s Association Hawaii’s Leadership Board, where she chairs the Care & Support Committee. Her passion for geriatrics is personal, stemming from her experience watching her grandfather who was living with dementia, which drives her commitment to helping families navigate this diagnosis.

Ivy K. Castellanos is Director of Programs with the Alzheimer’s Association, Hawaii Chapter. She holds a Master’s degree in Behavioral Science and Health Education from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has more than 20 years’ experience in the combined areas of health education, health promotion and disease prevention, health equity, and corporate wellness. She has served in roles with organizations such as HMSA, the American Heart Association, and HealthAssist, and has held research positions with the Johns Hopkins Center for Cancer Pain Research and the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research in Baltimore, Maryland. Ivy joined the Alzheimer’s Association in 2014 and finds joy in empowering families affected by dementia. She is a full-time mom of two and a full-time caregiver for her mother.

Catholic Charities Hawaii (CCH) is continuing their series of expert speaker workshops focussing on Dementia-Related Behaviors and issues that can be challenging for caregivers and providers of persons living with dementia in the community. This series is made possible by a grant given to Catholic Charities Hawaii from the Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging for the Alzheimer’s Disease Programs Initiative awarded to organizations across the country to increase resources and information with the goal of improving the well-being of persons living with dementia in the community and their caregivers. One of our grant objectives is offer training and support, connection to resources, and a chance to ask questions with experts in the Zoom sessions.