Jill Tokuda: “Since my first day in Congress, access to quality, affordable healthcare and mental health services has been among my…”

“Since my first day in Congress, access to quality, affordable healthcare and mental health services has been among my top priorities. I represent one of the most rural and remote districts in the country. I have seen and heard firsthand the devastating consequences of inadequate access to care. On Molokai, a constituent shared with me the weight and pain she felt over the loss of her daughter. The treatment and end-of-life care her daughter needed wasn't available on island, so she was forced to leave her children and family behind and tragically passed away without them by her side. On Lana'i, a kupuna sat me down and said: ``I love living here . . . but it is a difficult place to be born and to die.'' If you need obstetric care, assisted living, or end-of-life care, you have to board a plane, most often alone. In Wai'anae, a close friend and community leader held up a CDC report in his hand and expressed his anger and frustration that the life expectancy of residents living on the rural west side of O'ahu was a decade less than those living in downtown Honolulu. In the small, close-knit community of Kauai, too many people have a family member or friend who took their own life. With limited access to mental health professionals and services, our Garden Isle has historically struggled with high rates of suicide and suicide attempts.…”