Mayor Harry Kim on Monday called for the removal of Avalon Health Care as the manager of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo.
“I have no confidence and trust in Avalon,” Kim wrote in a letter to Gov. David Ige, a copy of which was shared with the Tribune-Herald.
The letter comes after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs dispatched a team of infection control experts, nurses and other health care professionals to assist with an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak in the facility that has claimed the lives of 24 residents.
In his letter to Ige, Kim called the deaths “tragic, and unacceptable.”
As of Sunday, 70 residents and 32 employees have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A report from the VA, following a Sept. 11 on-site assessment, noted a number of critical observations regarding the facility’s preparedness and infection control efforts, as did a report from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, which did a separate assessment.
“Because of Avalon’s failures, Avalon must be immediately removed from further administration of the veterans home,” Kim wrote.
Kim said a VA “Tiger Team” now in Hilo is capable of managing the veterans home until other arrangements are finalized.
Emailed questions to an Ige spokeswoman were not immediately answered.
Avalon spokeswoman Allison Griffith said in an email Monday that approximately a week ago, Avalon’s regional vice president for the Hawaii region assumed administrative leadership over the veterans home, and the regional nurse consultant for the Hawaii region assumed clinical control at the facility.
“Our number one priority remains the health and safety of our residents,” Griffith said. “We are working side-by-side with the team from the VA to implement its crisis strategy recommendations.”
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
