Layoffs planned for West Hawaii hospitals

The West Hawaii region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. is planning layoffs to address budget shortfalls. But it is not yet clear what the reduction in force will look like, or how it will impact services at Kona Community and Kohala hospitals.

Those details — plus projections on how much of a shortfall West Hawaii hospitals face for the coming fiscal year — are likely to emerge sometime next week. The system is not yet ready to share details on the reductions, said Jay Kreuzer, CEO of Kona’s hospital and the HHSC West Hawaii Region, on Thursday.

The pending reduction could hardly come as a surprise in the wake of the announcement this week of 87 layoffs at three East Hawaii hospitals. Those cuts are designed to help plug an estimated $7 million hole in the budget for the East Hawaii Region. Home Care Services and psychiatric care were cut at Hilo Medical Center, and long-term care beds were reduced in Hilo and at Ka‘u Hospital and Hale Hoola Hamakua.

A new requirement to fund retiree health benefits and negotiated salary increases that were unfunded by the Legislature have added to the flow of red ink at KCH, Kreuzer said in late April, although the hospital has identified $11.5 million in cost-saving measures and implemented $9 million of them.

The Hawaii Health Systems Corp. is facing a $50 million shortfall in the coming fiscal year for its hospitals statewide.

Kona’s state Sen. Josh Green, an emergency room doctor at Kohala Hospital in Kapaau, said the cuts are only the tip of the iceberg unless the state’s hospital system is reformed.

“If we don’t act, I believe cuts could be as great as 20 percent of staff in the next five years,” he said.

“In the meantime, we need the governor to consider an emergency appropriation to prevent the loss of essential services,” Green said.

Hawaii Island’s six HHSC facilities took in 84 percent of all emergency room visits and 68 percent of acute care discharges countywide in 2014.