Kahuku Hospital averts veto
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
Gov. Linda Lingle, facing a possible special session by lawmakers who hope to override budget vetoes, said yesterday she no longer opposes additional money for Kahuku Hospital.
Lingle had said last month that she intended to cut more than $3.6 million from the budget for health and human services projects, including a $400,000 budget increase at Kahuku Hospital.
In a statement released yesterday, Lingle said that after hearing from Kahuku officials, she no longer opposes the increase in money for the hospital.
"I was impressed with the attitude and thinking of the hospital's new administration," Lingle said. "I like the disciplined way they are resolving problems they inherited."
She said hospital representatives told her that factors beyond their control, including a fourfold increase in malpractice insurance costs, had forced them to request more money.
Lingle was leaving for Japan this weekend to discuss tourism issues.
Other social programs that Lingle has said she will veto include the Sex Abuse Treatment Center and youth service centers in Kalihi. Those and other targeted social service programs have not received a gubernatorial reprieve.
Members of the House and Senate leadership have said they would consider a special session to override some of the governor's vetoes.
House Majority Leader Scott Saiki, D-22nd (McCully, Pawa'a) said yesterday that Lingle's change of heart on Kahuku's financing probably would not be enough to halt that process.
The House would still be inclined to go into special session on Tuesday, he said.
"The governor hasn't approved funding for some of the other programs," Saiki said, "including services for children who are sexually abused and and domestic violence services for women and children.
"But we are glad that the governor agrees with us that funding for Kahuku is critical and necessary"
A two-thirds majority of each house is needed to override any veto by the governor.
Other budget bills under dispute between the legislative and executive branch include a measure that requires state agencies to reimburse the legislative auditor for the cost of financial audits and another that would make it possible to void some private restrictions on agricultural activities.
Dr. Chiyome L. Fukino, the state's new health director appointed by Lingle, said the Health Department will work closely with Kahuku Hospital officials.
She said Kahuku's increased malpractice insurance rates reflect "the general litigious nature of society" and are only part of the hospitals financial difficulties.
"They have old debt," Fukino said. "They have labor problems."
The Health Department plans to help the hospital apply for federal grants, including one that will lead to an electronic system for recording deaths and another that will streamline billing, she said.
