Air ambulance veto stirs protest

By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer

Maui residents plan a rally today to protest Gov. Linda Lingle's veto of a bill that would have provided $1 million to restore air ambulance service for Maui County.

On Saturday, Lingle rejected Senate Bill 745, which included emergency air ambulance services in the statewide system of emergency medical services and included money for a Maui-based helicopter service.

In her veto, Lingle said the bill "requires the state to include emergency aeromedical helicopter services statewide, but provides funding only for Maui." She said the attorney general was concerned that would expose the state to excessive financial liability because other islands would not have the service.

Sen. Rosalyn Baker, D-5th (W. Maui, S. Maui) said an air ambulance "is very much needed" in isolated areas of the county, including West Maui, Hana, Lana'i and Moloka'i.

"With one road in and one out," most people have seen what happens when roads get shut down for accidents, fires and even high waves sometimes interrupting access to large areas for hours. "There've been any number of close calls," Baker said.

Baker, who heads the Senate health committee, said no one from the attorney general's office or the Department of Health had objected to the proposal as it went through public hearings.

A group calling itself Concerned Citizens for Maui Health Care plans to rally against the veto today in front of Ka'ahumanu Shopping Center in Kahului.

In 1994, a private air ambulance was established in Maui by Mercy Air, but high operating costs forced it to shut down a year later.

Lingle said the decision was a difficult one, especially because it concerned her home island. She said the other factor pushing her decision was the state's financial situation of facing at least a $200 million shortfall over the next two years.

"It's just not the right time to be funding new services," Lingle said.

Baker said the bill had been written to bolster ground ambulance services as well and required the county's share of $611,500 to be spent before the state money was used.

With the combination of county money, efforts to get federal money and the commitment of private donations to help, Baker said she thought Lingle would have been enthusiastic about the proposal.

"With the model that we were proposing, the folks would be cross-trained to fly and would staff a ground ambulance," Baker said, which would have provided more service to Kula or Wailea.