Maui Hospitals' Regional Board Orders $28 Million in Cuts

MAUI HOSPITALS' REGIONAL BOARD ORDERS $28 MILLION IN CUTS HHSC Maui Region's Board ordered their administration to cut $28 million dollars in services and positions. WAILUKU, Hawai'i - Hawai'i Health Systems Corporation's (HHSC) Maui Region board voted earlier this week to cut $28 million in services and positions for Fiscal Year 2016. The difficult decision came after the latest State budget projections. "We are limited by the options that we have before us," said Avery B. Chumbley, a member on the Maui Region board. "We knew this day was going to happen, and while we understand the state cannot continue to fund our financial shortfalls, for three years we have asked the legislature to allow us to move forward on a public/private partnership so we could avoid this very day," Chumbley added. Immediate cuts will be made to non-clinical and non-essential contracts that the hospital maintains, as well as 50 - 75 non-clinical administrative positions. These cuts will only save the region a nominal amount compared to the shortfall cited by the board. "As administrators, as parents and involved citizens in this community, this is a path we have refused to accept in response to the continued financial shortfalls of our region, however, it is now time to address this issue head on, and that involves accepting the reality of our situation," said Maui Region's Chief Executive Officer Wesley Lo. The cuts will also affect various clinical service lines and positions and will require public input in order to shut down various services. Community meetings are currently being set and will be announced once places and times have been confirmed. The cuts may affect current services to all three of the region's hospitals. Services such as heart, surgical and intensive care units, oncology, obstetrics and gynecology services and physician call coverage are currently being reviewed for service cuts. "The cuts to our hospitals, facilities, staffing and services we provide our communities, will set us back 20 years," Lo said in underscoring the impacts. About HHSC Maui Region The Maui Region of HHSC serves over 11,000 inpatients and sees over 45,000 people in the emergency room each year. With over 1,500 employees, Maui Memorial Medical Center is the only full-service, acute-care medical facility in the County, and the only hospital outside of O'ahu providing a full range of cardiac services, including open-heart surgery and angioplasty. For more information visit MauiMemorialMedical.org. # # # Please route all press and media inquiries to The Island Agency.