Recently my mother-in-law was admitted to Hilo Medical Center. She received outstanding care from our nurses and doctors to help her return to good health.
Recently my mother-in-law was admitted to Hilo Medical Center. She received outstanding care from our nurses and doctors to help her return to good health.
Like many multigenerational families in Hawaii, my in-laws have come to live with my wife and daughters. This visit personally reminded me of the importance of accessible, high quality health care to us as individuals, families and community. It is a shared responsibility that collectively we cannot take lightly.
When we moved to Hawaii eight years ago, access to good health care for every member of my family was one of the most important aspects in choosing to grow professional and familial roots in East Hawaii. This is true for everyone, and I often hear comments that “good health care is essential” and “without your health nothing else matters.” These sentiments are the same regardless of economic standing or social position. At the end of the day, health care must be a priority for us all.
Health care is very important to me, both personally and professionally. As the new CEO of the East Hawaii Region and our hospitals — the Hilo Medical Center, Hale Ho‘ola Hamakua and Ka‘u Hospital — I am honored to be entrusted with the mission of delivering high quality health care to our community. As a former critical care nurse, I treasure the trust patients placed in me and the privilege of caring for them in their most vulnerable moments.
Our hospitals, each of which strives to deliver high quality, patient centered care, are in crisis. We recently had to reduce services and cut staff. This was not a one-time adjustment or course correction; rather, it was the logical outcome of systemic problems that, if not addressed, lead to an unacceptable, sub-par standard of health care for our community.
Rising costs of providing health care for our most vulnerable citizens, decreasing funding and the year-to-year unpredictability of our region’s finances greatly reduce our ability to properly meet the needs of our community.
The larger health care community also is under stress, dealing with a long-standing shortage of doctors and a looming crisis as many of our hardest working doctors will soon retire.
We cannot accept that Hawaii Island residents continue to place last in the state in many health indicators and chronic diseases such as heart failure, diabetes and mental illness.
The solution is larger than any one person, organization or legislative body.
A viable solution requires shared responsibility, shared ideas and shared risk. It will require a willingness to change the status quo, whether it be in how we pay for and provide care in our hospitals and doctor’s offices, or in how we shift our focus from treating illness to promoting wellness.
While our hospitals are the most visible part of the health-care system, they are only part of a whole. Community physicians, insurance companies, policymakers, local business and most importantly members of our community must also take responsibility for our health and personally make health a priority.
This idea of shared responsibility and the necessity of a communitywide health care solution align perfectly with Community First, the local nonprofit organization established to help empower our community to respond to the health care crisis, one that threatens our financial viability at every level of society.
As a founding board member, I am proud to be a part of this dynamic community-based solution to making health care great.
Thanks to the leadership and vision of community members like Barry Taniguchi, leaders from all parts of health care meet regularly to work on solutions to improve care.
These challenges will bring us closer together as a community, and I am very optimistic about our future. Commitment to community is a top priority for the 1,300 friends and colleagues I work with in Hilo, Honokaa and Ka‘u. They are capable, caring and dedicated to their community.
Let’s share the realistic vision that one day in the not too distant future we will be able to wholeheartedly say that health care in our community is superb and our collective priority.
This column was prepared by Community First, a nonprofit organization headed by KTA’s Barry Taniguchi, and supported by a volunteer board of local community leaders. Community First recently was established to help the community respond to the health-care cost crisis and support initiatives that change health care from just treating disease to caring for health.