Kula, Lanai hospitals get funding

HONOLULU (AP) - A little more than $3 million is being used to pay for various improvements at state hospitals on four islands.

The governor's office said Thursday that $1.2 million will go to Lanai Hospital for renovations, construction of a new waiting room and replacement of equipment.

Also in Maui County, Kula Hospital will receive $43,000 to finance electrical improvements, in addition to $414,000 to replace its aging X-ray system.

Ka'u Hospital, Kohala Hospital and Hale Hoola Hamakua on the Big Island will each receive $414,000 to replace aging X-ray systems.

Leahi Hospital on Oahu will get $150,000 to install a new grease trap system to bring the facility into compliance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations and requirements.

In other hospital news, a report showed that Hawaii's 16 hospitals are continuing to lose money.

That's the finding of a study the Ernst & Young accounting firm conducted for the Healthcare Association of Hawaii.

It says the island hospitals had operating losses of $187 million in 2008. That's on top of $212 million in losses reported for 2007.

Terri Fujii is managing partner for Ernst & Young.

She said Wednesday that low reimbursements from government health programs contributed to the losses.

She also cited a lack of long-term nursing facilities resulting in patients staying in hospitals longer.

Looking to the future, Fujii says hospital losses likely will spike next year as unemployed people run out of temporary COBRA insurance and more uninsured people go to emergency rooms.