Updated at 4:39 p.m., Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Governor pushes for second acute-care Maui hospital
Advertiser Staff
Gov. Linda Lingle today announced she is asking the Legislature to grant an immediate exemption to the certificate-of-need process to allow a second acute-care hospital to be built on Maui.The Legislature may be the last hope for developers of the Malulani Health & Medical Center after a State Health Planning and Development Agency committee yesterday rejected a request to consider an appeal of an earlier decision denying a certificate of need to the $212 million project.
Lingle said the committee's decision "does not make medical or economic sense," since the new hospital would be built with private money.
In earlier statements expressing support for the Malulani proposal, the governor said it is unlikely the state will be able to provide adequate money to help state-subsidized Maui Memorial Medical Center meet the island's current and future healthcare needs.
SHPDA head Dr. David Sakamoto rejected Malulani's certificate of need application in October, saying its developers failed to meet several criteria required for approval, including providing proof that there would be enough nurses, doctors and other employees available to staff the new 115-bed hospital.
Sakamoto said Malulani officials also failed to persuade him that a second hospital would not seriously hurt the financial well-being of Maui Memorial and other health-care services. The Malulani hospital cannot be built without SHPDA approval.
The agency is charged with ensuring major new medical services and facilities fit within the state's health-care priorities and don't threaten existing vital services. Lingle today said she also asked lawmakers to change the certificate of need approval process to make it easier for communities to benefit from state-of-the-art medical facilities and services.
