Corporate cuts of 30 positions on O’ahu by Hawaii Pacific Health will not impact the company’s Kaua’i operations, said Lani Yukimura, Wilcox Health System spokeswoman. HPH is the parent company of Wilcox Hospital and Kauai Medical Clinic, and plans no
Corporate cuts of 30 positions on O’ahu by Hawaii Pacific Health will not impact the company’s Kaua’i operations, said Lani Yukimura, Wilcox Health System spokeswoman.
HPH is the parent company of Wilcox Hospital and Kauai Medical Clinic, and plans no Kaua’i employee cuts at present, she said.
The parent corporation and its Kaua’i operations are constantly re-evaluating positions and services, with eyes on delivering the best possible patient care in the most fiscally responsible manner, she continued.
The Honolulu corporate workforce reduction affected support-service jobs in marketing, human resources, information systems and legal services.
When Wilcox agreed to merge with Kapi’olani Medical Center and Straub Clinic & Hospital nearly a year ago, representatives of the new, combined corporation, HPH, said cost savings would be realized by eliminating duplication of services between the three separate health-care operations.
Human resources, marketing, information services, legal services, and other areas were specifically named as departments where consolidating forces and systems could result in cost savings and increased productivity.
Speaking of the merger’s first nine months of existence, Yukimura said the benefits to Kaua’i patients as a result of the merger have been “wonderful.”
Wilcox because of the merger became associated with Straub’s reputation as the Pacific’s best place for cardiac care, and Wilcox patients have benefited from specialists imported from O’ahu, or from treatment received at one of Wilcox’s sister facilities in Honolulu.
“The merger is going to continue to be a bridge to professional care,” and women’s health will be HPH’s next priority objective, said Yukimura.
“We’re always looking to be more efficient,” but would not dare sacrifice quality of care to save money, she stressed.
Wilcox Health System employs around 850 people, and HPH has about 5,000 employees.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
