Lee Cataluna: A show of leadership that wasn’t just for show

When state Sen. Josh Green wanted to be lieutenant governor, campaigning not just for higher office, but to serve specifically as an unappreciated No. 2 under the cold, uncollaborative David Ige, it seemed such a waste of an experienced emergency room doctor in a state where we have a perpetual shortage of doctors and an overage of do-nothing politicians.

The office of LG is historically the most notorious do-nothing gig in town.

But Green has been working to make something of the job while toeing the line of never overshadowing his boss. This week he broke free by taking on a big-impact project that plays exactly to his skill set and shows his leadership abilities in action.

Green, a physician who, as it turned out, did not stop taking shifts in the ER even after he won the election, put together a team of 76 doctors, nurses and support staff in just a matter of hours and worked his contacts to get the group he dubbed the Hawaii Health Corps, their gear and supplies to Western Samoa to help fight the deadly measles outbreak in the Pacific nation.

It would be wrongly cynical to look at the Samoa medical mission as any kind of political maneuver. The crisis of the measles outbreak that has sickened thousands and killed more than 60 people is too horrible, the need too great and the Hawaii response team too earnest to be any sort of contrived public relations show.

As the team from Hawaii flew to Apia on Wednesday, Samoan social media outlets reported on the eerie quiet that had descended over the country as the government ordered everyone to stay home and wait for medical help. People were instructed to hang a red flag outside their house if they needed a mobile vaccination unit to come and take care of their family. Pictures posted online showed all manner of red cloth and clothing hung outside rural homes, symbols of a community in crisis.

“We’ll fly all night, and then they’re going to have coffee there on the runway and then we’re going to go out into the field and into the clinics and into the hospital to deliver immunizations for the better part of 48 hours steady. So everyone is going to hit the ground running, and we’re going to make this kind of a marathon,” Green said before the team left.

“This will not be forgotten,” former Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann said. Green credited Hannemann with initiating the response to Samoa’s call for help and with coordinating with leaders in Samoa to maximize the Hawaii team’s impact. Hannemann looked emotional as he spoke, and Green reached up to pat his shoulder. “This is just such a tremendous humanitarian effort that speaks volumes about the leadership being exemplified and all of those who are coming together.

So, as it turned out, Josh Green didn’t stop being Dr. Green when he became Lt. Gov. Green, and in this instance he was able to use the power of his office to pull together local experts, corporate donations, international health organizations and logistics quickly to do an urgent, critical and very specific thing without using taxpayer money. While it wasn’t a political move, it’s pretty impressive for a political office that historically hasn’t made much of an impact.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.