KAHULUI - The proposed West Maui hospital cleared an initial hurdle Friday, winning a recommendation for approval of its plans for a $48 million critical access and skilled nursing facility in Lahaina.
The Tri-Isle Subarea Health Planning Council, which is made up of Maui County residents from the general and medical communities, voted unanimously in favor of approving the proposed facility's certificate of need application during a meeting Friday at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. The panel's action is the first in a series of steps before the West Maui hospital project receives final word on its permit application.
"I'm really pleased," said the hospital's developer, Brian Hoyle, after the hearing.
Hoyle said he didn't expect much opposition at Friday's hearing and expressed optimism that the proposal will do as well at upcoming hearings.
The next stops will be reviews by the Statewide Health Coordinating Council and the Certificate of Need Review Panel before the project advances for final approval to Ronald Terry, administrator of the State Health Planning and Development Agency.
After the meeting, Terry said he expected to make a decision 30 days after the last panel makes a recommendation.
Hoyle, president of Newport Hospital Corp., told the Tri-Isle council that, if all goes as planned, the hospital could be operational in March 2012, although he would like to see it serving patients before then.
After the hearing, Hoyle said there may still be challenging questions ahead from the other panels. But he said he was upbeat, and he thanked supporters, including Maui Memorial Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Wesley Lo, who testified in favor of the project.
Lo was one of a dozen testifiers who backed the project. No testifiers opposed it. Among 30 to 40 written testimonies submitted, one letter writer was against the project.
Lo told the council he was "generally in support of the application" and recognizes the need for health care services in West Maui.
But he wanted to discuss issues with Hoyle, such as the new hospital's impacts on other island medical facilities, including Kaiser Permanente and Maui Medical Group. Other issues to consider include response times for ambulances and how emergency care would be handled between the two hospitals, Lo said.
Lo applauded Hoyle's proposal to develop 40 long-term care beds. But he wanted to learn more about how Hoyle would make it benefit the new hospital because he indicated that providing long-term care is a financial drain on a facility.
Hoyle is working with Joe Pluta, president of the West Maui Improvement Foundation, to establish the hospital on land near the Lahaina Civic Center.
The hospital would have 25 acute-care beds to be managed by Southwest Health Group LLC, which is based in Spring, Texas. The 40-bed skilled nursing facility would be operated by Mission Health Services Inc., an 18-year-old Utah nonprofit experienced in operating specialty nursing facilities.
In his presentation to the council, Hoyle said the hospital would "complement" Maui Memorial as well as relieve some of the current hospital's burden of acute-care services and long-term care.
Hoyle said he would recruit staff from his network on the Mainland as well as those in the state, and he hopes to hire Maui Community College nursing graduates.
Dr. Stephen London, an anesthesiologist who said he has worked at both Maui Memorial Medical Center as well as at a small 20-bed medical facility in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., liked the idea of hiring young medical staffers from Maui for the new hospital as well as those who have since moved from the island and want to come back.
"I think the critical-access model is perfect for the situation on Maui," he said in testifying to the panel.
London, who is a part-time Makawao resident, said he has seen how a hospital and smaller facilities can work together.
Although testimony was positive, panel members as well as Terry had questions for Hoyle.
Council member Kathleen Suzuki asked about plans to use affordable housing as a way to attract staffers to the hospital.
Hoyle said he has had discussions with Kapalua Land Management Corp., and he could be able to secure lands to build already-planned affordable housing near the hospital.
With the unstable economy, Terry questioned the hospital project's funding.
But Hoyle said he has $10 million to $15 million available, as well as financial help from affiliates. He said he also can look to the federal government for assistance.
The only opposition to the application came from the CONcerned Citizens of West Maui, via Kate Zelkofski, who submitted written testimony. The group's 10-page letter expressed concerns over "errors and omissions" in the West Maui hospital's application and asked for corrections or revisions.
The group's concerns included public and patient access to the hospital as well as the availability of hiring staff for the facility. The group also asked whether patients would be transferred to the new hospital or Maui Memorial during emergencies.
* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.
