WAILUKU - Twenty-eight Molokai dialysis patients have moved or will be moving to Oahu and Maui to continue their treatments because of an ongoing water shortage on their home island, said Melissa Souza, director of operations for Liberty Dialysis in Maui County.
As of Monday afternoon, 21 of the patients had left Molokai - 18 to various facilities on Oahu and three to Maui, she said. Of another seven patients, five were planning to go to Oahu, and two were undecided.
With water levels serving Kaunakakai "critically low" last week, Souza said, Liberty implemented emergency plans to move patients to other islands. Many of the patients were brought in ahead of schedule to get dialysis treatments Friday to get them through the weekend, she said.
Dialysis machines need significant amounts of water to operate.
Souza said patients were getting money for airfare from their health insurance carriers. Also, The Queen's Medical Center was donating money to help with travel reimbursements, she said.
The water shortage was caused by repairs to a pump serving the island's Kualapuu Well, which serves residents of Kaunakakai and Kalae. The county had been using water from a well operated by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands while the Kualapuu Well was off-line, but the DHHL well pump broke down Thursday.
On Monday, Maui County spokeswoman Mahina Martin said that water levels were still low in the system, and she continued urging residents to use water only for basic health, safety and hygiene.
With crews working on well repairs day and night, county officials hope the work can be completed by the end of this week or sooner, Martin said.
The county also set up a telephone number for residents to call for information at 553-5791.
