HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0996.005 2006-2008
MALAMA 0 PUNA
P. 0. Box 1520
Pahoa, Hawail 96778
(808) 965-2000
www.malamaopuna.org malamaopuna@,yahoo.com
Preserving Hawaii `s precious natural heritage
March 26, 2008
To: Chair Pete Hoffmann and Members of the Hawai'i County Council
,N
RE: HSEDC FUNDING FOR THE PUNA COMMUNITY MEDICAL CENTER'S
URGENT CARE FACILITY
Aloha members of the Hawai'i County Council:
I am testifying today as President of Malama O Puna, a 501(c)(3) charity with
over 1,450 members. Malama O Puna took part in the Puna Community Development
Plan process and is one of the original members of the Pahoa Weed and Seed Project. As
President, I sit on the PW&S Steering Committee and am also its Fundraising Committee
Chair. When the matter of the Urgent Care Facility came up at our meeting, the Steering
Committee voted unanimously to authorize the Fundraising Committee to work with the
Puna Community Medical Center to help them get their first phase, the Urgent Care
Facility, off and running.
The Puna Community Development Plan, which will come onto your agenda
within the next few months, strongly recommends an urgent care facility and, later, a
comprehensive medical center, modeled to some extent after the Waianae Coast "Comp",
but offering services specifically geared to Puna's needs (i.e., Dialysis Center, Birthing
Center, Substance Abuse Treatment, etc.). Pahoa Weed and Seed, when it submitted its
Needs Assessment to the US Dept. of Justice as part of its original application, also
identified the health needs of our community, citing the Puna District's federal
designation as a medically underserved community.
The health care crisis in our state is a complex one, and there is no silver bullet
that will solve all the problems. Capping parts of the Medical Malpractice Insurance
laws will not resolve the situation - only address one part of the problem. Likewise,
offering incentives to new graduates of medical school or arranging for them to fulfill
their residency requirements on Hawai'i Island, will help alleviate practitioner shortages
but will not, in itself, solve the problem.
The proposal of the Puna Community Medical Center to receive HSEDC funding
for its Urgent Care Facility does not pretend to be the final solution either. It is, however,
a major step in the right direction - especially for Puna which, as you know, has the
fastest growing population in the State. The clinic will keep extended hours (eventually
24/7) including weekends and holidays. It will have an Indigent Care Program and a van
service to bring patients without transportation to the clinic. No appointments will be
Gomm No.
Ref. To: sent
Ref. Dot APR 21 2008
needed - everyone will be "walk-in". PCMC will not compete with the Bay Clinic, but,
rather, complement it.
The Bay Clinic's Pahoa Family Health Center has no room to physically expand.
It is well known in our community that it can no longer provide timely service to the
increasing number of patients seeking care - it takes longer and longer to get an
appointment, and, with the number of walk-ins increasing, there is a very long wait time
(and sometimes patients can not get seen at all that day). With all the good will in the
world, they are being overwhelmed. As a result, many in Puna needing urgent care will
drive all the way to Hilo and strain the facilities of the Emergency Room - even though
the problem may not be an actual emergency. Thus the problems snowball.
The Puna Community Medical Center has just received its nonprofit status
determination from the IRS. It has located a rental space for its Urgent Care Facility in a
readily accessible area with lots of parking and close to the Puna Pharmacy, Clinical
Laboratories, and the Pahoa Fire Department and Ambulance Service. It has a list of
doctors and staff who are ready to start serving the people of Puna.
But starting a clinic requires a lot of supplies and equipment - a large up-front
investment, since these are very costly. And it needs to turn on the utilities and pay staff
and rent until the insurance reimbursements start coming in. It may seem like a lot of
money that PCMC is requesting, but much of this is for one-time capital expenses that
will amortize over many years. And the benefit to our residents will be beyond price.
Please support the efforts of the PCMC board, staff, volunteers and residents of
Puna by approving the full amount requested. Help us help Puna and, by extension, all of
East Hawai'i . Mahalo for your Kokua.
Malama pono,
Rene Siracusa
President