Paid benefit for hospital employees is extended
Officials say Maui Health facilities are not over capacity
Maui Health is extending through Sept. 30 a paid benefit for employees who must stay home while awaiting COVID-19 test results or have been feeling ill, hospital officials said this week.
Staff had expressed concerns about the benefit expiring, saying that it had encouraged people to stay home while symptomatic. They worried that without it, some people might be inclined not to declare symptoms.
Hospital spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda confirmed this week that the benefit has been extended.
“This was a benefit that had been extended several times before it ended in mid-June as the COVID19 cases significantly reduced on Maui and in the state,” Dallarda said. “Now that we see an upsurge of cases in Hawaii and on the Mainland, it is crucial we reactivate this benefit.”
She said the benefit expired on June 14 and was “formally reinstated” July 10. She said it is retroactive to April 1.
“We do not want employees
“We are not at 110 percent capacity and employees who have been here for decades don’t ever remember exceeding capacity.” — Hospital spokeswoman Tracy Dallarda
coming to work sick, and know that finances are an issue for many, which is why this benefit was vital for us to reactivate,” Dallarda said.
Dallarda also addressed concerns about Maui Memorial Medical Center and its emergency room being over capacity, saying that the claims are “untrue.” A recent social media post had indicated that the hospital was 95 percent full in early July, even exceeding capacity at 110 percent on July 8.
“We are not at 110 percent capacity and employees who have been here for decades don’t ever remember exceeding capacity,” Dallarda said via email. “The hospital census is at our pre-COVID-19 levels and typical of what we would normally manage in our dayto-day operations.”
She said the typical capacity prior to COVID-19 is around 85 to 90 percent, but that the hospital is still below normal levels because of the lack of visitors and community members who are delaying care.
On July 8, 174 hospital beds out of 219 were occupied. Out of the 174, there were 43 patients who do not need acute care any longer, but are on waitlists for a bed in a longterm care facility, Dallarda said.
As for claims about the emergency room being full, which were backed by some staff members who worried what conditions could be like when tourists return, Dallarda said that while the ER has seen an increase in visits, its patient levels are still well below its pre-COVID-19 levels, which is down 40 percent. On July 8, 90 patients came into the Emergency Department; the “normal census” is 180 patients, she said.
The concerns were brought to light July 8, when South Maui state Rep. Tina Wildberger posted on her Facebook page about the hospital being full. Wildberger said this week that she could not provide details on her source at the hospital, but said “it is a person I trust and one who understands what the hospital should be doing.”
Some community members also backed Wildberger’s claim in comments on her post.
“I am confident that the snapshot (it was just that, a snapshot of that particular day) about capacity that I shared was accurate. The administration can manipulate their numbers by counting empty beds for which there is no staffing, or count their empty ICU beds, but ER and Post-Op patients can’t go to ICU, unless they need that specialized care,” Wildberger said in an email.
In late March and April, the hospital saw an outbreak of COVID-19 that grew to more than 50 patients and staff. Officials later said it was tied to slow testing turnaround times, lack of communication and circulation of staff and patients through the hospital. The case has been closed for more than two months.
Some of the frustrations and speculation over the spread of the virus during that time arose from a dispute over whether staff could wear their own masks in nonclinical settings. The hospital later reversed its policy to allow staff to do so.
Dallarda said that the policy still stands and that staff are allowed to wear their own masks in public areas. Other preventative measures still in place include symptom and temperature screening at the hospital’s two entrances and the requirement that everyone, including patients, wear a mask.
In-patients are also tested for COVID-19 and there is enhanced cleaning and disinfecting for all areas of the hospital, Dallarda said. The hospital continues to limit visitors.
With the nation and Hawaii still mired in the first wave of COVID-19, Dallarda said that Maui Health’s Emergency Operations Center team has been working for months with hospital departments to develop a surge plan for an uptick or second wave in cases.
Currently there has not been a COVID-19 patient in-house for more than 70 days, Dallarda said.
But, if needed, the hospital has the ability to go from 219 to 300 beds and could increase if more is needed. In less than an hour a “warm unit,” or area for suspected or confirmed positive patients, can be established.
Other surge plan activities include bringing together a “crisis team” of leaders, physicians, nurses, infection control staff, the state Department of Health and others.
Dallarda said the hospital is “continually monitoring and sourcing” its personal protective equipment needs.
The hospital’s goal is to have 60-day supply on hand for each identified PPE. For example, there are currently 262 days worth of N95 masks, along with a 249-day supply of ISO/procedure masks and 66 days worth of gloves.
The hospital also has nearly 40 ventilators, with the county soon to donate more emergency bridge ventilators, Dallarda said.