Posted on: Thursday, June 10, 2004

Maui will get air ambulance

By Bruce Dunford
Associated Press

Gov. Linda Lingle, at a Maui bar with Mayor Alan Arakawa, yesterday signed into law a bill that resolves a legal issue stalling the launch of an air ambulance service for Maui County.

Lingle and Arakawa were together at the Koho Grill & Bar at the Queen Ka'ahumanu Center yesterday morning for her weekly radio show when she signed the bill and presented it to the mayor.

The bill is the key to the release of state matching dollars to begin Maui's helicopter medevac service on July 1, under a 2003 law that established a statewide air ambulance service.

At issue was language that would limit the state's liability from lawsuits over the lack of such service on Kaua'i, the only other county without an air ambulance.

According to the new law, "the decision to establish or not establish emergency aeromedical services in any county or counties is viewed as a discretionary function of government and, as such, the State is immune from liability."

It says that while the law and court cases appear to be clear, "because of the urgency to establish this service in Maui County, to eliminate any doubt, this Act expressly provides that the State shall not be liable for claims based on the failure to establish emergency aeromedical services in every county of the State."

Lingle announced in January that she was releasing $611,500 for the service and $388,500 for paramedic staffing at Kula starting July 1, but said the Legislature needed to fix the liability issue.

The concern is that a victim or the family of someone injured on Kaua'i might sue the state if the lack of an air ambulance on Kaua'i resulted in a death or greater injury because of a delay in reaching the hospital.

The Lingle administration and state lawmakers differed over the language of the liability immunity bill, but that was resolved late in the 2004 session.

The air ambulance service is seen as vital for Maui County because it includes three islands and has only one major critical care unit at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Hawai'i County gets matching state dollars for its air ambulance service and O'ahu's is provided by the Army. Kaua'i has three hospitals and some military helicopter support.

Arakawa recruited community organizations in early April to lobby Lingle and lawmakers to resolve their differences, saying the political standoff had Maui County caught in the middle.

"This is an issue that affects the life, health and safety of every single person in the county. ... We are asking the governor and the Legislature to do whatever is necessary to save our helicopter service," he said at the time.

Lingle in 2003 vetoed the proposal, saying it opened the door for lawsuits because the service was being established only on Maui. Lawmakers overrode the veto in a special session.