Our Story
Please allow me to introduce myself…
My name is Paradis Kawehionalani Reed and I proud to be from Hilo. I graduated from Kamehameha Schools, UH Manoa and UH School of Medicine. I am a practicing ER physician and have been for 14 years. My husband is Mark Reed, an Orthopedic Surgeon, and, while he is not from Hawaii, he is as committed as I am to the island of Hawaii.
For Mark and I, the experience of caring for my mother for the past nine years, in addition to our daily work as physicians, has brought elder care to the forefront of our minds. We have given much thought to how we can contribute to this need and how we can accomplish this in Hilo.
At our age, we are in the sandwich generation, taking care of our children and our parents at the same time. We visit our elderly relatives in Hilo, Waimea, and Oahu and they have been fortunate enough to have their children also caring for them as they age. This is the Hawaii way - multi-generational living.
Unfortunately, this is not always possible for Hawaii’s seniors. Many young people have moved away for work or school and no one is left to help out when it becomes too difficult to mow the grass or get to the grocery store. We have seen the struggle that our seniors endure trying to manage the mundane tasks of life. Ultimately, all their energy is spent on these tasks rather than enjoying their friends, activities and socializing.
We can not only extend life by following these concepts but perhaps, more importantly, the quality of life is vastly improved.
Here, in Hilo, people are already familiar with the Blue Zone concept. It’s in our blood to live the concepts - we just never put a name to it. It is in our nature to produce and eat lots of fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables. Socializing with longtime friends is part of the fabric of our life. Community clubs and churches are the foundation of our town. We have a generous spirit, helping others in need and looking out for each other. However, for most seniors, it requires enormous support to be able to implement the concepts of eating well, being active, having a purpose and being part of a community.
Our dream for Makamae House is to create a special place to live for up to 10 independent seniors where we can take care of all of life’s routine chores and allow our residents to live their best life. Most importantly, we are creating a community where our residents become a family. They will look in on each other. A friendly face and activities in common will bring meaning to their lives.
Because no one should age alone.
With warmest Aloha,
Paradis and Mark Reed
Founders of Makamae House and Makamae Holdings