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Murashige, Laura
From: rene siracusa <renesiracusa@hotmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2015 11:55 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: Testimony on Reso 243-15
Attachments: Testimony to County Council August 19.doc
Aloha members of the Hawaii County Council -
Attached is the testimony that I will present to you tomorrow morning via teleconference from Pahoa.
Please note that I will be present to answer any of your questions or concerns when the matter comes up on
the agenda.
Mahalo in anticipation of a favorable vote.
Rene
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Ref. Date
Testimony to County Council August 19, 2015 -
Re: Reso 243-15
District 5/Paleka Contingency Grant
Good Morning Council Members:
I am here today representing Puna Community Medical Center, the grant
recipient. We are the little clinic that goes the extra mile: open weekends and
holidays, no appointment needed, sliding fee scale for low income patients and
uninsured fund for no income patients. We turn no one away. And we do it all in
800 square feet. We have managed more than 35,000 patient visits since opening
in Feb. 2009. When the lava was threatening to bisect Pahoa, we even opened an
annex clinic south of the flow so that trapped residents would not lose their
access to health care. That effort cost us financially, as the expected FEMA
reimbursements have still not materialized. But we are not deterred.
Medical care is a basic human need and impacts all other areas of
endeavor, including the economy. This funding will help us to improve the quality
of care by adding new diagnostic equipment and keeping our providers up-to-
date on cutting-edge changes in medicine; improve access to care by increasing
our hours of operation and adding another provider; improve the effectiveness
of care with the Prescription Voucher Program.
I will keep myself available to you this morning to provide details and
answer any questions when this item comes up for discussion. Many thanks to
Dan Paleka and to you all for your support.
mahalo and aloha,
Rene Siracusa
Board President
Puna Community Medical Center