Letters for Saturday, April 21, 2007

• Wal-mart expansion has positive benefits

• HPH helped expand bone and joint center

• Kula parents love their school

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Wal-mart expansion has positive benefits

Attn: Council chair Bill Kaipo Asing:

I respectfully submit my thoughts on Bill 2203.

The proposed expansion of Wal-mart would have numerous positive benefits to the Kaua‘i ‘ohana, which will far offset any negative aspects. Its location is ideal — situated at the edge of the commercial hub of Kaua‘i and providing wonderful ingress and egress from two thoroughfares. Additionally, visual impact will be minimal.

It seems to me the project couldn’t have been better planned. Most certainly it will not destroy the “rural” neighborhood, unless Hilo Hattie, Wilcox Hospital and the retirement community of Sun Village is considered rural.

You have read many letters before mine that, in greater detail and in better words, have outlined the benefit to our community of allowing the expansion of Wal-Mart. I will not attempt to go there.

I have worked in Lihu‘e for 20. years, and am now retired. It is my fervent hope that you will not vote to adopt passage of Bill 2203 so I can continue to afford to live on Kauai.

Lihu‘e

HPH helped expand bone and joint center

When I read the allegations listed in SCR 170, I was moved to share with you some of the many reasons I am proud of Kaua‘i Medical Clinic and Wilcox Memorial Hospital. At Wilcox Health, our goal is to pursue excellence in all that we do. We plan to be the best place to receive care, the best place to provide care and the best place to work, period. We have the resources necessary to achieve these goals because of our partnership with Hawaii Pacific Health.

I have lived and worked on Kaua‘i since 2000 and I am now the Chief of the Bone and Joint Center at Kaua‘i Medical Clinic. When I was hired, the department consisted of a single orthopaedic surgeon and a single physician’s assistant. We have now expanded the Bone and Joint Center to include four orthopaedic surgeons, a neurosurgeon, a physiatrist, a neurologist, a rheumatologist, a podiatrist and two orthopaedic physician assistants. We have the ability to offer comprehensive, integrated musculoskeletal care for the people of Kaua‘i. We offer the latest procedures such as computer-navigated total joints, unicondylar knee replacement, hip resurfacing, and a host of minimally invasive surgical treatments such as arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs. There is no need for patients to ever go off island for their care.

We now can offer open access to patients with same-day appointments. We accept all patients without regard to insurance. There is better access to care than ever before. We would not have had the financial means to hire new physicians and support them for their first two years without the support of Hawaii Pacific Health.

By having four orthopedic providers, we can be available for orthopaedic trauma 24/7. We have now expanded our vision and are taking patients from Maui who cannot get care there.

The orthopaedic providers on Maui are not providing full coverage to the Emergency Department. Historically, Maui Memorial has transferred patients to Queen‚s Medical Center.

Why are the patients on Maui being transferred to Kaua‘i instead? Because we have exceptional ease of access, we have the ability to provide excellent care and we are happy to accept all patients.

We have also had referrals of elective cases from Maui because of challenges on Maui with access for Medicaid patients (known as QUEST in Hawaii) who are covered under Aloha Care, which we happily accept.

Since the merger with HPH, we have seen tremendous improvements in the infrastructure of health care for the people of Kaua‘i. Wilcox Memorial Hospital now has a state-of-the-art imaging center with a high-speed CT scanner and a high-resolution MRI. All of our imaging is digital.

We have a brand new surgical center with dedicated specialty suites and integrated computer navigation. We have implemented a comprehensive electronic medical record system that has integrated and streamlined patient care. None of this would be possible without financial support from HPH.

Consider briefly the number and variety of specialists available on the island of Kauai. Throughout the United States, communities of similar size lack even basic health care. Patients routinely have to drive hundreds of miles for specialty care. We are truly blessed with a community of dedicated physicians.

What is the justification for allegations of decreased access to care? What is another investigation likely to reveal that the prior review from SHPDA did not?

If you are at all curious about the quality of care or the access to care on Kaua‘i, please give me a call or come visit me in my clinic.

I would be happy to take you on a tour of our clinic and hospital any time, so you can see for yourself the great care provided at our facility and the tremendous enthusiasm and aloha of our employees.

Thank you for your interest.

Kauai Medical Clinic

Kula parents love their school

We are Kula parents who don’t want the recent news regarding the unfortunate mistakes of two Kula staff members to blemish the excellent reputation of our wonderful school. From reef research and robotics to canoe paddling and critical thinking, Kula offers a K-12 curriculum that is both broad and challenging, providing our children with a fantastic education in a safe and nurturing environment.

We hope you will recognize the names of friends and neighbors who fullysupport Kula High and Elementary School and value it as a great asset to our Island and our children’s future. We trust that the unfortunate mistakes of the few will not obscure the dedicated efforts of the majority.