The precarious financial position of our state hospital system has lingered for more than a decade. Unfortunately, state government leaders have allowed it to languish. The executive and legislative branches have not been able to find common ground and have been unwilling to take decisive action on legislation that acknowledges public-private partnerships as the best means to save our state hospitals.

A number of public hospitals and clinics are running out of cash and essential facilities are threatened with closure. At the same time, cuts to the John A. Burns School of Medicine have exacerbated a growing shortage of doctors that is further impairing our ability to offer quality healthcare. Throughout this campaign, I have been speaking about the need for action on public hospitals, and have offered a comprehensive set of proposals on state health care (see http://votemufi.com/issues/).

The impact is real. Due to funding and related staffing issues, on Oct. 15 Maui Memorial Medical Center was forced to close its Molokini II Wing, the island’s only adolescent behavioral health unit. Children needing care must now fly to Oahu for treatment. This puts undue strain not only on patients but also on families. This is a disgrace.

Bills have been introduced in the last two legislative sessions that would have permitted public hospitals to partner with healthy and well-regarded hospital groups. But neither made it out of committee.

Gubernatorial candidate David Ige was in a prime position to use his influence as Senate Ways and Means chairman to pass those bills and failed under pressure. What is disheartening is that there was strong interest expressed by one Hawaii-based hospital system to engage in a public-private partnership to save Maui Memorial Hospital. We have since learned there is a second hospital also keen on assuming the hospital’s operations.

We need to put the patients before party politics and elect a governor who is not afraid to take the lead on this extremely critical issue.

A few more facts:

» The financial losses of Hawaii Health Systems Corp. are unsustainable. Losses last year were $165 million. As wages and medical costs continue to rise, these losses will only get bigger. The system has debt and unfunded liabilities of almost $400 million. These cannot be honored without a public bailout.

» No importance was attached to the fact that our leading nonprofit medical groups are among the finest in the country and patients on the Big Island, Maui and Kauai would have immediately benefited by having access to those health-care systems. The experience with Wilcox Memorial Hospital, Queen’s Medical Center-West Oahu and North Hawaii Community Hospital is conclusive: Better patient care in financially viable systems with no public subsidies.

As governor, I would immediately:

» Confer with the mayors of Hawaii, Kauai, Maui and Honolulu; consult HHSC and the public employee unions, and meet with Hawaii Pacific Health, Kaiser and Queen’s in order to find a practicable solution to the public hospital crisis.

» Propose legislation to allow publicprivate partnerships in the hospital sector, and actively work with other like-minded legislators to ensure the passage of the bill.

» Promote public-private partnerships with as many as of our public hospitals as possible. My years of experience of public-private partnerships in leadership positions in both the public and private sector will be extremely useful.

It is only though such actions that we can secure the fundamental right of the people of Hawaii to access quality affordable healthcare wherever they reside.

As with energy, education and housing, the same old, same old, politics has been tried and failed. We need change, and we need it now.