Wilcox Memorial Hospital officials will turn over their 110-bed long-term-care services division June 1 to Garden Isle Healthcare LLC, which also owns and operates the Hale Kupuna Heritage Home in ‘Oma‘o. A hospital spokesperson insisted that the changeover will not
Wilcox Memorial Hospital officials will turn over their 110-bed long-term-care services division June 1 to Garden Isle Healthcare LLC, which also owns and operates the Hale Kupuna Heritage Home in ‘Oma‘o.
A hospital spokesperson insisted that the changeover will not affect long-term-care availability on Kaua‘i.
“Current long-term-care patients and families can be assured the services they are receiving will continue, and Kaua‘i can be assured that these 110 long-term-care beds will remain on the island,” said Lani Yukimura, Wilcox’s public relations spokesperson.
Garden Isle bought the Wilcox division in March for an undisclosed amount, and will lease the facilities from Wilcox.
Yukimura cited insurance and “third-party” payment difficulties, along with increasing pressures to provide more and higher levels of acute-care services, as reasons for the sale.
Meanwhile, the 100 or so nurse aids, registered nurses and certified nurses affected by the changeover are represented by the Hawaii Nurses Association and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union.
Unionized employees have “bumping rights,” and so have been given an opportunity to reapply for their jobs, Yukimura said.
“We are presently awaiting regulatory approval that would allow the ownership change and sale to proceed,” Yukimura said.
“During the interim, and to prepare for the transition, the vast majority of Wilcox’s long-term-care employees have been offered employment after the sale closes.
“The terms and extent to which these employees will accept Garden Isle Healthcare employment is not presently determinable.”
Wilcox is not aware of any pending union issues, and the changeover should go smoothly, Yukimura said.
“Everyone was offered to apply, and most of them did,” Yukimura said.
Dr. Eric Yee will continue to head up the long-term-care operation, Yukimura said.
While the amount of purchase has yet to be released by Wilcox or Garden Isle Healthcare, records show the fair-market valuation of Wilcox’s long-term-care operation is $2.5 million.
A confidentiality agreement prevents either party from discussing financial details of the changeover. However, the purchase will make Garden Isle Kaua‘i’s largest long-term-care services provider, with 194 beds.
Five long-term-care facilities on Kaua‘i supply 322 beds: Wilcox Hospital with 110 beds; Mahelona Medical Center in Kapa‘a with 70 beds; Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waimea with 20 beds; Kauai Care Center in Waimea with 38 beds; and the Hale Kupuna Heritage Home in ‘Oma‘o with 84 beds.
There are no licensed, assisted-living facilities on Kaua‘i. However, the 82-unit assisted-living facility, Regency at Puakea in Puhi, will most likely be licensed “within the next month,” according to a spokesperson at the state Department of Health.
The Regency will offer studios from $2,250 per month to two-bedroom units for $3,500 per month, along with a 12-bed “special-care unit” for $3,945 per month.
Those fees include meals and other amenities.
Business Editor Phil Hayworth may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:phayworth@pulitzer.net.
