LIHUE — Kauai officials from Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, which operates Samuel Mahelona Memorial and Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospitals, said at least 23 employees are scheduled to receive pink slips next week as the state’s public health care system struggles
LIHUE — Kauai officials from Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, which operates Samuel Mahelona Memorial and Kauai Veterans Memorial Hospitals, said at least 23 employees are scheduled to receive pink slips next week as the state’s public health care system struggles to offset an estimated $48 million budget shortfall.
How many employees will be laid off at either of the two hospitals, or how many of them will be unionized workers, has not been determined, said Scott McFarland, HHSC Kauai Region Interim Chief Executive Officer.
No cuts in services, he added, are planned until evaluations are completed in November.
“The Kauai regional board continues to look at strategies for optimizing operations and understanding the service lines we offer and how they are valued in our communities,” McFarland said.
Randy Perreira, executive of the Hawaii Government Employees Association, which represents unionized HHSC employees, said: “We are aware that there is a funding challenge, but having said that, what HHSC has not specifically articulated to us at this point is what they’re projecting to save by impacting these employees,”
