State asking OHA for grant to resume dialysis at Kalaupapa

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

State health officials are seeking $65,000 from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to pay for equipment so that dialysis treatments can resume at Kalaupapa for elderly patients of Hansen's disease who live in the remote Moloka'i community.

Of the 38 residents, four could use the machine now, said Mike Maruyama of the Hansen's disease division of the Department of Health. Three residents are being flown to the state's Le'ahi Hospital for treatments, and one has taken up permanent residence there to avoid the strain of frequent commuting.

But Maruyama said the request was made especially to fulfill the wish of the one patient, a man in his late 70s, to move back to Kalaupapa — the former Hansen's disease colony of forced confinement that became the residents' beloved home of choice after the confinement was deemed unnecessary.

The OHA grant would pay for two machines — one for backup — that would be installed at the community's care home. Dialysis was discontinued about 10 years ago because the facility's license no longer authorized it, Maruyama said.

However, a St. Francis Medical Center home-care dialysis program will enable treatments to resume at the facility, he said, and money for a permanent staffer to operate the machines is being sought by the Native Hawaiian healthcare program Na Pu'uwai. Existing staff could be trained in the meantime so that treatments could begin this year, he said.

The grant proposal has received OHA committee support and will come up for a final vote next week.