Training needed to prescribe meds

Your article on House Bill 1072 enabling psychologists to prescribe medication (“Psychologists closer to prescribing drugs” Star Advertiser, April 19) failed to mention a very important point. The medical training involved, a year of full-time online coursework, is extremely substandard. This is about 10 percent of what a psychiatrist and 20 percent of what a nurse practitioner completes.

A 2014 survey of about 1,000 psychologists found that 89.2 percent assert that medical training for psychologists to prescribe should be equivalent to that completed by other non-physician prescribers, such as nurse practitioners.

Bills like HB 1072 have failed more than 180 times in 23 states over the past 20 years — including over a dozen times here in Hawaii. The only bill that has passed in over a decade was in Illinois, where prescribing psychologists must complete premedical and medical training equivalent to a physician assistant but with strict limitations on scope of practice (e.g., no children or severely ill patients). The people in Hawaii deserve the same quality of care as the people in Illinois.

Elaine Heiby

Licensed psychologist

Moiliili

Not all vacationers good neighbors

In response to Marsha Phillips’ letter regarding vacation rentals in Hawaii (“Vacation rentals fill a needed market niche,” Star-Advertiser, Letters, April 17), my neighbor rents his house to vacationers. On average, there are three or four rentals per week.

Some renters are respectful of the local neighborhood, but most don’t care that on Sunday through Thursday nights our family is in bed by 9 p.m. Maybe Phillips was a great vacation renter, quiet and respectful, but the group that came in after her could be four couples throwing down shooters until 2 a.m.

You see, we are out of sync; they are on vacation and we aren’t. I have to close up the house because they make too much noise. Phillips might understand if she had a vacation rental in her backyard, but seeing as she is from Cleveland, Ohio, I think she is pretty safe.

John Sullivan

Kaneohe

Don’t sabotage rental enforcement

For the state, House Bill 1850 HD1 SD3, which would allow big corporations, such as Airbnb, to collect taxes on vacation rentals on behalf of the state, is merely about collecting revenue, regardless of the implications. For our residential neighborhoods, it is about quality of life, negative impacts on our housing inventory and rising rents, and concomitant social and economic costs caused by the thousands of illegal vacation rental operations.

Without incorporating into the final version of the bill the requirement that vacation rental brokers who act as state tax collection agents must verify that vacation rentals are following applicable county and state laws, the bill would sabotage the city’s renewed efforts, as well as the state’s Act 204, to clamp down on the illegal circumvention of our zoning laws.

Failure to include such a requirement would allow vacation rental brokers, who represent mostly illegal operations, to shield the identity of illegal operators, lend them the appearance of legitimacy and encourage further proliferation of these illegal enterprises.

Ursula Retherford

Kailua

Staff adds value to Honolulu Zoo

Regarding the Honolulu Zoo losing its accreditation, and having five directors in the last six years, I am writing about a recent behind-the-scenes tour and feeding of warthogs, giraffes, rhinos, and cheetahs by their keepers.

My friends and I were invited to this special tour by members of the zoo’s staff, Adrian and Rhonda. The privilege to be able to come close and feed the magnificent animals was awesome. We were educated about the animals, and how and why it was necessary to keep them healthy. Adrian and Rhonda are very knowledgeable and passionate about their work, making the visit memorable.

There were many more staff members working hard to prepare special diets for the animals.

I hope the new director, Baird Fleming, will include the staff in making decisions about habitat construction and best practices. The animals need the voice of the people who know them better than anybody else — their keepers.

James Nakada

Moiliili

Trust rail audit over HART director

The Big Q of April 18 indicated that 62 percent of respondents considered the city auditor’s report on the rail transit project above reproach (“Overall, what’s your reaction to the city auditor’s critical report of the rail project?” Star-Advertiser). The fact that the executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, Dan Grabauskas, considers the report flawed quite clearly shows that he is out of touch with the realities of the project.

I definitely take the auditor’s report over anything that Grabauskas has to say regarding HART financial matters. If he thinks it flawed, then he should prove it, to the taxpayers.

Considering that the hardest and most costly part of the whole project is yet to come, it’s doubtful that Hawaii taxpayers have any faith in Grabauskas’ ability to successfully complete this project.

James Robinson

Aiea