Clients must come first

The Honolulu Advertiser printed a letter from Wai'anae Representative Maile Shimabukuro in today's paper. Maile disagreed with the an editorial which concluded that the DOH was justified in terminating mental health contracts. The health department doesn't have a clear transition plan, said Maile, and about 400 mental health consumers will need to find adequate care. She propounded extending the state contracts until a better solution is found that will be less detrimental to consumers.

An excerpt from her letter:

"Your editorial rightly stresses the negative impact on consumers as the health department switches to other providers. Despite claims that it has staff and facilities to replace Hale Na'au Pono, the evidence is not there.
With no clear transition plan, the health department's small, new facility in Makaha, with skeleton staff and part-time hours, is no replacement for Hale Na'au Pono's full staff and adequate facilities.
The only sensible solution is to extend existing contracts until a viable alternative is found."