Posted on: Thursday, April 12, 2001

Wailea may get ambulance unit

By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor

Maui County officials are working with the state Department of Health on plans for an ambulance station in the Wailea resort area.

The state has identified the fast-growing South Maui region that includes Wailea as a priority for additional ambulance services, said Donna Maiava, chief of Emergency Medical Services.

American Medical Response, which holds the state contract to provide ground ambulance services for Maui County, has a single ambulance stationed in Kihei covering South Maui.

South Maui is the fastest-growing region in the state, according to U.S. Census figures. The population of 16,749 grew 50 percent in the last decade. That number does not include a large chunk of the 40,000 or so visitors on Maui on any given day who stay in hotels or condominiums in Kihei and Wailea.

Maiava said yesterday she was "most pleased" when Mayor James "Kimo" Apana wrote a letter to Health Director Bruce Anderson offering his support for expanded ambulance services in Maui County.

The county has proposed to lease the state approximately 14,000 square feet of land near the planned Kihei/Wailea Fire Station, off Kilohana Drive. The mayor included a request for $8.3 million for construction of the fire station in his fiscal year 2002 capital improvements budget now before the County Council.

Maiava said the Health Department likely will request financing for the Wailea ambulance station during next year's legislative session.

It would take two to three years before the facility is in operation, she said.

Preliminary plans call for building a station with two bays and living quarters for paramedics. The state also will explore the possibility of housing a backup unit at the station, she said.

A provision in the state contract with American Medical Response allows for renegotiation in the event of expanded services, Maiava said.

Along with the Kihei unit, there are ambulances in six other Maui locations and one each on Moloka'i and Lana'i.

Apana said he is lobbying for additional ambulance coverage for the sprawling Upcountry region.

There is one ambulance stationed in Makawao and one in Kula that operates only 10 hours a day.