Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013

     LORETTA FUDDY, DIRECTOR OF HAWAI`I’S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, died in a plane crash off the coast of Moloka`i yesterday after a Makani Kai Air flight took off on its way to Honolulu. Maui County Fire Department reported that all of the eight other people onboard, including DOH deputy director Keith Yamamoto and the pilot, were rescued after Moloka`i firefighters and the

    Donna Kekoa, who works at Ka`u Hospital Rural Health Clinic, said "Diliana (Fuddy's first name) "was a pilar of leadership. She cared about the children and famililes of Hawai`i. She was unwaiving in her expectation that we work together to improve the environment and conditions in which people live so that everyone in our state can have the benefit of good health and a good life." Kekoa said that Fuddy helped with the Ka`u Local Consortium, which sponsors activities for childbearing teens and women of Ka`u. She was a beautiful, passionate woman and very down to earth."
    Merilyn Harris, administrator of Ka`u Hospital,  said, “Fuddy was well loved by everyone and well respected by all who worked with her because she was so dedicated and focused on improving the health of the community. Her passion was those people who are the most vulnerable, certainly those who are disadvantaged. She was very active with programs that champion mothers, newborns and early childhood care.”    

     Nona Wilson, deputy administrator and chief of Nursing at Ka`u Hospital, said Fuddy “had such a fantastic reputation as a community leader. but I knew her more on a personal level. She was from Kaimuki, where I am from, and my sister also graduated from Kaimuki. Loretta and I talked about small kid time. She was a local girl, very personable, very in touch with the community needs from a local perspective. She was a home-grown girl. I knew her on that level.”

     Wilson said that despite the tragedy, the pilot of the plane should be commended. “In a smaller aircraft, he did what Captain ‘Sully’ Sullenberger did on the Hudson, getting everyone in their life jackets and gliding the plane to safety in the water. From an airline perspective, that is pretty awesome.”

    “Our hearts are broken,” said Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who appointed Fuddy as head of DOH in 2011. “Loretta was deeply loved and respected. She was selfless, utterly dedicated and committed to her colleagues in the Department of Health and to the people of Hawai`i. Her knowledge was vast; her counsel and advice always given from her heart as much as from her storehouse of experience.

    “We send our best thoughts to her family and will do all in our power to reflect her professionalism, her love of Hawai`i and the high standard she set for herself and all of us,” Abercrombie said.

      State Senate President Donna Mercado Kim said Fuddy “embodied the very spirit and character of public service, dedicating her life to the health and well-being of all of Hawai`i’s people. Under her leadership, she fostered a transparent and collaborative environment, engaging with lawmakers, community members, health care providers and social service organizations.“

      Alice Hall, acting president and chief executive officer of Hawai`i Health Systems Corp, said Fuddy “devoted her life to all facets of healthcare improvement for Hawai`i, including healthcare provisions that HHSC has benefited from. Loretta also has served on the HHSC Corporate Board of Directors, as an ex-officio representative, since 2011. She was a wise, sincere, wonderful person who will be greatly missed.”

Keoki Kahumoku's `ukulele kids provided entertainment at Hana Hou last night. Photo by Julia Neal

      In a story yesterday about Hawai`i’s recent number one ranking in U.S. health care by United Health Foundation, The Ka`u Calendar News Briefs quoted Fuddy telling the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “This reminds us how fortunate we are to live in the Aloha state.” She noted that state government has long helped the needy with coverage through Med-Quest and the state child health insurance programs.
      “We do very well for the population that’s economically challenged,” Fuddy said.
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