HawaiiNewsNow: Employees and patients stunned »
Hawaii Medical Center patients and their families are worrying about access to quality health care while some workers are hoping for a miracle after Friday’s announcement that the company would soon shutter its two Oahu hospitals.
"It’s overwhelming — and around Christmas. It’s just not a good time to throw people out," said Katharina Ritchie outside of HMC-East in Liliha, where a family member was receiving treatment. "I think it’s selfish. It’s cruel. It affects families."
HMC Chief Executive Officer Maria Kostylo announced Friday that HMC’s Liliha and Ewa facilities, formerly St. Francis Medical Center and St. Francis West, are being closed in the next few weeks after a bid to buy the hospitals for $25 million fell apart.
Some Leeward residents were particularly shaken by the news, concerned that the loss of HMC-West and its emergency room will place the community at risk.
"They cannot do that to us on the Leeward coast," Nanakuli resident Jennie Donner said. "We need it on this side."
Donner, 70, who underwent a triple-bypass surgery at HMC-East in January, said doctors and nurses took excellent care of her. While she had the surgery at the Liliha facility, Donner primarily seeks medical care at the Ewa hospital because it is a half-hour away from her home.
HMC-West is the only hospital available to Leeward Coast residents. Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center is a clinic that doesn’t provide all the services that HMC-West offers. They can only do so much, said Donner.
"I don’t want to lose St. Francis," she added. "It’s very convenient."
Donner’s daughter, Raynette, said she fears what will happen to patients when an emergency occurs on the Leeward coast. "Where are they going to go?" she asked. "They need a hospital that’s closer."
The next-closest hospital is Pali Momi Medical Center in Aiea, and the state’s largest trauma hospital, the Queen’s Medical Center, is as much as an hour and a half away from Nanakuli.
Raynette and Roberta Donner said their mother had some complications after her surgery, including pneumonia, so they took her to HMC-West’s emergency room where they said she received excellent care from nurses and doctors who took the time to answer their questions.
Since her mother’s surgery, Raynette has developed friendships with nurses at the hospitals, she said.
About 990 workers would be displaced by the shutdown.
Registered nurse Chris Lopresto, who has worked at HMC-West for several months, said he is optimistic the closing will not be permanent.
"I don’t think the hospital will be closed for too long" because of the need for a hospital in the area, he said.
A nurse for seven years, Lopresto said he is confident he can find a job at another hospital since other places will need help caring for the anticipated influx of patients from HMC’s hospitals.
HMC-East employee Alicia Palaganas, 63, described the hospital as her second home. She has worked there for almost 40 years in various positions from laundry to housekeeping and, most recently, as a special department aide for rehabilitation services.
Palaganas said she will likely retire after the shutdown but still hopes for a miracle that will keep the hospital open.
"I hope God will help," she said.
