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Dan Domizio has been posting on this and for some reason it hasn't been getting much traction. The health care issues here in Puna affect everyone.
I saw a recent tale of a couple who, with a raging infection, needed antibiotics on the weekend. Bay Clinic closed, Urgent Care in Hilo closed. The couple ended up at the Hilo Hospital Emergency Room. Many hours later and $1,600 poorer they had a prescription for the antibiotic.
Now this simple tale repeats itself too often and the sufferers range in age from infants to the elderly. With such a growing population in Puna and with a growth in population of higher income retired folks you might think getting start up funds for this new clinic would be a breeze.
It's not.
I'm sending $100 in today. Wish I could send more. I encourage any and all of you to think about your future here and that of your friends, neighbors and casual strangers.
We need this new 7 day a week clinic. You need this clinic.
Donations may be mailed to:
Treasurer - PCMC (Pahoa Community Medical Clinic)
c/o Richard Bidleman, 13-1264 Malama St., Pahoa HI 96778.
Or
You can even just walk into the Credit Union Hawaii in the Pahoa Malama Market center and deposit in that name.
Rather easy.
Any comments? Any ideas?
Punaweb moderator
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
Just noticed this bill of interest HB2757 HD1
Report Title: Hospital Capital Loan Program
Description:
Establishes a hospital capital loan program under department of health. Requires loan to a private hospital in the state with an annual patient population of sixty per cent or more of uninsured, medicaid, and medicare patients.
(1) Finance hospital plant construction, conversion, and expansion;
(2) Acquire land to expand the hospital;
(3) Acquire equipment, machinery, supplies, or materials for the hospital; and
(4) Supply working capital for the hospital.
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Unfortunately, that won't help out the Pahoa Community Health Center, because they are not a "hospital".
Getting a hospital in Puna has a lot of challenges, not the least of which would be getting SHPDA (State Health Planning and Development Agency) to issue a "certificate of need" for the facility and the services it would offer. Its needed, but convincing a bureaucrat of that would be "challenge" to say the least.
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
If it's still in a start up phase.... couldn't they change the name from Community Medical Clinic to Community Medical Hospital?
After all... is the Hilo "Hospital"
Hilo Medical Center or Hospital?
http://www.hhsc.org/easthi/hmc/images/hmc_600.jpg
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On this day in History:
Record low temperature for Honolulu, Hawaii 56 degrees, 1962
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Regardless of name, if you can't stay overnight with monitoring equipment, nurses and vital ancillary services, its not a hospital. Its a clinic.
If I open a place with medically trained staff, offering diagnostic health services and treatment, but call it "John's Body Shop", its still a clinic. And if a clinic turns off the lights and sends everyone home at the end of the day, its not a hospital.
That's an overly simplified example of course, and I'm sure the real definition of a hospital is more complex, but you get the idea.
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
Thanks for the clarification.
I wiki'd "hospital" and came up w/ the following
"A medical facility smaller than a hospital is called a clinic, and is often run by a government agency for health services or a private partnership of physicians (in nations where private practice is allowed). Clinics generally provide only outpatient services."
So if the main diference is outpatient services versus inpatient services, couldn't Domizo's proposed clinic also take "inpatients".
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Okay Robb. Will send in donation. Once the clinic is established, that should also help to provide evidence of the need for a hospital down the line.
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I suppose they could, if they added the services necessary for inpatients like dieticians, food service, 24x7 housekeeping staff, 24x7 nursing staff, on-call doctors, and developed a relationship with larger facilities to allow for the transfer of patients to levels of care that exceed their experience and state-approved care levels. There's probably more required, but those come to mind off-hand.
"Inpatient" generally means a level of care significantly higher than that available to outpatient clinics. I'd be afraid that the space that the Pahoa Community Medical Clinic has rented would not be sufficient to house the essentials of even a small "hospital". Most hospitals are required to have significant life-saving equipment -- like intubation equipment, blood bank stocks and to have emergency power sources (like generator backups) so that a power failure won't cause people to stop getting oxygen. So, like I said, I'm sure there's a fairly complex definition (and there are some here that can far better describe it than I can -- I'm looking at you, Lee D). Its not a semantic issue.
You don't believe everything you read on a Wiki, do you, Damon? 
John Dirgo, R, ABR, e-PRO
Aloha Coast Realty, LLC
808-987-9243 cell
http://www.alohacoastrealty.com
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Okay, I just went through all this myself. Ugh.....
I've had a little bit of a cough for a little over a week. A couple of days ago it starts to move into my throat. So yesterday I wake up with swollen lymphs, tonsils and coughing up weird orange stuff from my throat. mmmm, orange stuff....
I immediately go into Pahoa for a visit to the clinic. They set an appointment for 2:30. Not 30 minutes later they call me and cancel the appointment because one of the doc's is sick and they tell me that I'm going to need to walk in at 7am the next day to see if there are any walk-in appointments available. OR: I can go to Urgent care and pay $125 to be seen as a walk in if they have room.
So I wait.
This morning, my throat is almost closed shut and there are beautiful little pustules that have formed on my uvula and the side of me tonsils. Yay pustules!!
So I call Pahoa Clinic. Guess WHAT! They are closed because they have no water????? WTF!!?? The incredibly helpful woman on the phone tells me to go to Keeau and walk in even though they have no openings and just wait until someone cancels or no shows. So that's what I do...
After waiting all day, I am finally seen (thankfully, by an extremely friendly doctor Peggy Fujimura) who tells me what I already know. I have Strep Throat. She kindly gives me a prescription for antibiotics and sends me on my way.
$75 later, I have my meds. I am glad it wasn't more complicated than this, but where is the infrastructure???? Why are people who have semi-emergency situations being punished like this? I don't have insurance, nor do I think it would have been any easier even if I did, but what the h#ll? What can we do as taxpayers/voters to address these problems?
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars."
"How do you know i am mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the cat "or you wouldnt have come here."
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How much money is needed? How much do they have? How long will it take?
Will there be doctors to staff it?
I agree it is absolutely needed...and will donate. As a mother of 4 not being able to get medical attention when needed is scary...even minor stuff...my daughter had some kind of hives/rash on her legs last week I tried to get an appointment at the Bay Clinic, I gave up after an 1/2 hour on hold..(the rash went away thankgod) and after reading others experiences I am grateful this was a little thing, the next time it may not be.
We can't afford not to support this Clinic.
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