Wahiawa General Hospital (WGH) needs and deserves an infusion of cash to keep its doors open. And while a short-term bailout by the state appears necessary, the greater need is a sound, long-term business plan to keep the vital community resource in operation.
The hospital is in “imminent danger of financial failure” and faces “inevitable closure … unless immediate financial assistance from the State is provided,” according to resolution passed unanimously by the state House this week.
The resolution appeals to Gov. David Ige for financial assistance while the hospital develops a new business model, and we urge lawmakers to support WGH’s request for
$3 million this fiscal year and $3 million next year so it can stay afloat.
“We need the funding on an interim basis to allow us to develop a new transitional plan,” WGH Chief Executive Officer Don Olden told the Star-Advertiser, noting the hospital would hire a consultant if state funding is secured.
Olden estimated that without state relief, the hospital could stay open for only six to nine months.
The nonprofit WGH offers emergency, acute and long-term care, which are crucial needs.
It behooves the state to grant a reprieve from closure for a facility that serves a 30-mile area stretching from Waialua to Kahuku through Wahiawa and Mililani.
“We cover one-third of the island,” Olden said.
Indeed, a shutdown would force residents in those areas to seek emergency and other care in Ewa, Aiea or Kahuku — not an ideal situation when time and distance can negatively impact a patient’s condition.
Further, the WGH emergency room serves about 20,000 patients a year; an average of 30 patients each day receive acute care services and about 100 patients per day are served in the skilled nursing unit.
It’s no wonder the community is rallying to ensure the hospital stays open — including signing petitions and testifying at the state Legislature.
Numerous factors have caused declining revenues, including the 2014 opening of Queen’s Medical Center West in Ewa; lower reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid (85 percent of WGH patients are covered by those programs); and an increase in indigent care.
In addition, a shortage of doctors has forced the hospital to spend $1.7 million a year to acquire specialist in-patient hospitalists and on-call surgeons to treat patients.
WGH has tried to stem the financial bleeding by cutting operating costs by $9 million a year and laying off 75 employees.
Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Whitmore-Poa-
moho) said the $3 million is needed “for the hospital to survive so that we can even begin to discuss repurposing or partnering or a new business model. … We cannot allow Wahiawa General Hospital to fold.”
He pointed to the 2012 closures of Hawaii Medical Centers (formerly St. Francis Medical Centers), describing the shutdown as “catastrophic for the entire system.”
Clearly, the Wahiawa hospital is in dire need of restructuring so it can again be self-sustaining — but state funding cannot and should not continue indefinitely. If hospital officials do receive this urgent, one-time infusion of funds, they must use the time aggressively to regroup via partnership, merger or other fundamental shifts. Folding now might be premature, but the ability to adapt to fast-changing times is essential for survival in today’s health care industry.
