Smaller veterans home suggested
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
After reviewing a feasibility study for a state-run veterans home in Hilo, officials from the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. are recommending a smaller facility be built.
The state Legislature this year set aside $16 million as state matching money to build a 200-bed veterans home on the grounds of Hilo Medical Center. But the consultant hired to analyze the project said a scaled-back 95-bed facility could be financially self-supporting.
Kelley Roberson serves as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for the health systems corporation, which runs 12 state hospitals, including Hilo Medical Center.
He said the corporation hired consultant Health Dimensions Group as part of federal requirements to analyze the feasibility of such a facility. Yesterday, Roberson hosted a meeting at the state Capitol on the study for community leaders, lawmakers, veterans groups and others interested in the proposal.
Gov. Linda Lingle last week said she's inclined to recommend a scaled-back facility after learning that the consultant thought the smaller plan would work better.
But Big Island Mayor Harry Kim said he's still hoping that a larger facility might be possible, and he will continue to talk with Lingle about his reasons. "I really believe the figures don't match the true need," he said.
Kim also said he believes that this is an opportunity to create a model veterans home that would make people proud, "not a place to just sit and wait."
Roberson said the corporation plans to get its formal recommendations to Lingle in 10 days because she faces an Aug. 15 deadline for her recommendations to the federal government to comply with the requirements for matching money.
U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawai'i, got a commitment from federal veterans officials for $29 million, which is 65 percent of the $45 million cost of construction.
Carol Myrianthis, president of the non-profit Hilo Medical Center Foundation, said the home would be built on the site of old hospital buildings now used for offices and storage. Even a smaller facility would mean great progress for Hilo and the veterans community, she said.
Myrianthis said she hopes the facility can be designed so that it could be expanded later if the demand proved greater than the initial analysis.
Consultant Mark MacCutcheon said part of the analysis indicated that there might be a need for a second veterans home on O'ahu where more veterans live. He said studies show that many veterans want to stay close to home and would be unlikely to move to another island even if a veterans home became available.
But health systems corporation officials said any recommendation about an O'ahu home would have to get in line behind plans for the Hilo home, adult day care and expansion of its existing care program for veterans.
Lingle said she is studying the part of the report that the facility may be economically feasible if it can operate under private management instead of the state civil service system. But Lingle aide Randy Roth said some of the cost savings associated with private management could be negotiated with public worker unions within the state system.
MacCutcheon also recommended exploring the development of a day care facility connected to the proposed veterans home. He said the demand for a long-term-care home wasn't enough for a 200-bed facility, but the day care facility could serve veterans who don't need full-time care.
Hawai'i, Delaware and Alaska are the only states that lack a state-run home for veterans.
Kim said a veterans home may be one of those services that should be provided by government, rather than by a company that would need to look more closely at the bottom line rather than the ethical commitment to people who have served their country.
Reach Robbie Dingeman at rdingeman@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2429.
