Maui hospitals’ regional board announced Wednesday it would begin the process of reducing the number of hospital beds and services since Kaiser Permanente has delayed until July 1 the privatization of three state hospitals in Maui County.

The announcement comes two days after Kaiser Permanente’s letter to Gov. David Ige that would defer the transition of Maui Memorial Medical Center — the island’s only acute-care hospital — Lanai Community Hospital and Kula Hospital to Kaiser until July 1. It had been planned for Nov. 6.

The reduction process would begin with public hearings and notification of the Legislature before the first phase of closures, the Hawaii Health Systems-Maui Region’s board of directors said in a news release Wednesday.

The first phase would be to close 12 of the 152 medical-surgical beds and eight of the 24 intensive-care beds, the board said. The second phase could include multiple service closures.

“It’s still a possibility and I’m still hopeful that the governor’s office and the UPW and HGEA (Hawaii Government Employees Association) will reach some agreement so we can move to some transition,” said board President Avery Chumbly. “If everyone could come together, and we could talk about it, there is a chance that it could happen before July 1.

“We won’t make cuts until we go through the process,” Chumbly assured. “Patient care and patient safety is foremost at every decision this board makes.”

The hospitals face a problem retaining and hiring doctors, nurses and staff.

Wesley Lo, chief executive officer of the Maui region, said, “Many physicians don’t want to come into a place where there’s so much uncertainty.”

As for nurses and staff, “we were getting ready to transition, so we stopped recruiting,” he said.

Many state employees have been retiring, so there is a “tremendous amount of vacancies,” which the hospitals have filled with traveling nurses or temporary hires, Lo said.

Even with the current 209 beds, which include obstetrics and behavioral health beds, the hospitals are sometimes at capacity, he said.