Residents of Kapolei who call 911 for medical emergencies will have the option of being transferred to an urgent care facility, rather than a hospital emergency department, under a new program launched by state and county officials that could help alleviate pressure on emergency rooms and ambulance services.
The first alternative care site will be at the Straub Kapolei Clinic and Urgent Care Center located at the Ka Makana Ali‘i Mall.
Health officials are planning to expand the program to other alternative care sites throughout Oahu and the neighbor islands, with more sites potentially available by the end of the year.
“The program seeks to provide the appropriate care that meets the needs of the individual based on agreement between the healthcare experts and the patient,” said Dr. Alvin Bronstein, chief of the Department of Health’s Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch, in a press release.
Nationally, emergency rooms have long been overtaxed by people seeking care for nonemergencies leading to long wait times. In Hawaii, patients often wait more than two hours before being treated and sent home, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
City emergency services workers responding to 911 calls will assess the conditions of patients to determine whether they can be treated outside of emergency departments and ultimately allow patients to decide.
Dr. James Ireland, director of the Honolulu Emergency Services Department said that the goal is to better match patients with the appropriate level of care. “Alternative care sites can potentially decrease emergency room overcrowding and benefit EMS with shorter transport times which result in putting 911 ambulances back in service sooner,” he said in a press release.
On Oahu, ambulance services were stretched particularly thin during the latest COVID-19 surge, leaving emergency medical technicians and paramedics struggling to keep up with the volume of calls. The city has just 21 ambulance units staffed by about 250 paramedics and EMTs.
The flexibility in providing emergency care was authorized by the Legislature in 2019 under HB 1453, which was signed into law by Gov. David Ige.
The legislation allowed the Department of Health to charge fees for patients transported to health care facilities other than hospitals, as well as charge for treating patients who call 911, but who don’t need to be transported.
The fees for being transported to an emergency
department and an urgent care center are the same, according to the Department of Health. For basic life support, it currently costs $1,649, plus $23 per mile, all or part of which may be covered by the patient’s health insurance.
The fees are the same because there is no difference in the transportation service, according to DOH. The federal Medicare program also requires that ambulance transport fees be the same regardless of the destination, in order for members to be reimbursed.
