Dear Community Members,
We at the Moloka‘i Community Health Center understand there have been concerns in our community about recent events at the health center. We are committed to solving the issues at hand.
We have decided to postpone the community meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 15, due to safety concerns for our Board and staff. We’re very sorry to community members who planned on attending, but ensuring the safety of everyone in attendance is our top priority.
While we schedule a new meeting date, we are welcoming those who have concerns about their health care to meet with us on a one on one basis. Please call 808-660-2630 or email mchc@molokaichc.org to schedule an appointment or to submit your comments / inquiries.
In the meantime, we are offering the information below to answer your questions and address your concerns regarding quality of care and recent events related to staff shortages.
Medical Department Partial Closure
We understand many of the community’s concerns have stemmed from a four-day period during which the clinic was closed. We want to apologize to the patients who were affected by the closure. It is never our intention to limit access to care.
We have addressed the staff shortages that led to the medical department’s partial closure. It was an unusual situation that we do not foresee happening again. We are fully staffed and our provider positions are filled as we continue to provide the care that the community needs.
Quality of Care
We understand some concerns regarding the level of care have been raised. We have a hardworking, dedicated team who is committed to providing the best care possible for our patients.
Over the past several months, we have taken actions to improve care for our patients and offer new services:
- We are now offering specialty care access on site with a pediatric neurologist and registered dietitian for keiki with ADD, ADHD, autism and epilepsy. In addition, we are currently interviewing Pediatric specialists to join the team.
- We recently introduced a full-time registered nurse back into our clinic for the first time in 10 years to assist with improving care management.
- We will be expanding our telehealth program to include video visits for patients who are homebound or may lack transportation to our clinic.
That said, providing health care, especially in a remote area like Moloka‘i, has its challenges. Hawai‘i has a statewide doctor shortage. Rural communities all across the country suffer from a shortage of providers that require patients to drive for hours to see a doctor and to wait for weeks to get an appointment.
We say this to let you know that we are not alone — most Federally Qualified Health Centers struggle to recruit and retain doctors on their staff.
Recruiting qualified providers who are invested in our community and here to stay for the long term is a top priority. We believe it’s important to recruit providers who understand our culture and way of life and are committed to providing the best care for the community.
Funding and Management
As a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), we receive higher reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid that allows us to provide care to uninsured and underinsured patients in our community. We also receive federal grants to treat uninsured patients, to encourage preventive health care, and to improve the health of our community. Having an FQHC in the community as a primary care provider is a tremendous asset.
If we were ever to lose our Federally Qualified Health Center status, our 2,300-plus patients, many living without insurance, would likely not be able to afford care from a private physician or nurse practitioner. We take our FQHC status seriously and would not do anything to jeopardize that. We undergo regular audits to ensure we are serving our patients in line with our mission, and recently completed a federal on-site review by our federal governing board.
If we had to close our doors, it would be very unlikely that a physician or nurse practitioner would be able to afford opening a private practice on Moloka‘i to serve our 2,300 patients. The reimbursement rates that private practices receive from Medicare and Medicaid are much lower than what a Federally Qualified Health Center receives. A private practitioner would face a difficult financial challenge in keeping a practice open on a regular schedule. There would be extremely limited options for uninsured patients to obtain health care services on Moloka‘i.
We know we play a very important role in the community, and we do everything we can to provide the best care possible.
I believe all of us at Moloka‘i Community Health Center and in the community have the same goal: to ensure the people of Moloka‘i have access to affordable, comprehensive, quality health care. Now, more than ever, we feel it’s important to come together as a community to support our providers and support our mission.
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Helen Kekalia
Chief Executive Officer