Ka`u News Briefs Thursday, March 5, 2015

THE HILLSIDE TO THE SOUTH OF HONU`APO lookout and some four miles of land above the coastline are up for sale again. The 1,363 acres is listed by Hawai`i Pacific Brokers for $11.5 million. The listing describes the land: 

      Ka Ohana O Honu`apo, which partners with the county in managing the public park adjacent to the parcel, has been working to purchase the section closest to Honu`apo and Whittington Beach Park through the county’s Two Percent funding set aside through property tax revenues and additional funding from other sources.
      Alexandra Kelepolo, of Hawai`i County Finance Department’s Property Management Division, said she sent a letter to Charlie Anderson, who represents owner E.W. Moody, saying the county is no longer pursuing the purchase at Honu`apo in the near future. Instead, it is concentrating on buying 3,000 acres along the coast, makai of Hawaiian Ocean View Estates. She said that the Honu`apo property remains on the list and could be purchased in the future either in its entirety or a portion of it.
      Anderson said the owner of the property is hoping that the community could rally to find funding to preserve it. The parcel closest to Honu`apo is 700 acres, he said.
      The county has been working with Trust for Public Lands to partner with private, state and federal entities to preserve land in Ka`u.
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THE FUTURE OF KA`U HOSPITAL is not affected by proposed legislation that would privatize Hawai`i Health Systems Corp. state-run hospitals in Maui County. “Our Board of Directors has been very clear in expressing the view that privatization is not the solution for the East Hawai`i Region (of HHSC),” Ka`u Hospital Administrator Merilyn Harris said. “They prefer to look at other options within our island to collaborate and partner with so that we can operate as efficiently as possible to meet the needs of our local communities. For example, our region is very interested in finding ways to achieve further efficiencies by joining efforts with Kona and Kohala, which comprise the West Hawai`i Region of HHSC. 

      “To date, we have been very successful in controlling costs while growing and improving our services, but we cannot exist without some funding from the state as over 76 percent of our patients are covered by either Medicare or Medicaid, neither of which covers the full cost of care. We’re very proud of the fact that we are safety net facilities because we believe that care should be available for everyone, but it sure is challenging.
      “We’re asking for help from the state to fund the collective bargaining increases and the 10 percent increase in the cost of the employee benefit package that was passed into law last year. We’re also asking for support for the Primary Care Training Program in Hilo that provides a residency program for primary care physicians.
      “We know so well in Ka`u how hard it is to find and retain good primary care providers, so this is an especially important program for us.
      “Also, there is a bill before the Legislature to fund the installation of photovoltaics in our three facilities. Since the air conditioning and filtration was installed in our hospital, our energy costs have risen substantially, so this is a key issue as well.”
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