KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Hawaii lawmakers will consider legislation that would fund putting two more ambulances into service on the Big Island.
The measure would seek $100,000 in the 2019-20 fiscal year and another $100,000 in the next fiscal year to fund the ambulances, equipment and personnel costs, West Hawaii Today reported Wednesday.
The ambulances would be stationed in Puna and the Makalei area.
State and emergency officials have identified Puna as a priority for an ambulance, but the need is great in Makalei as well, Democratic state Sen. Dru Kanuha said.
“With the vast distances between Makalei and Kailua, having an ambulance at Makalei would better serve that entire area,” Kanuha said.
The Makalei Fire Station, which opened in late 2012, does not have an ambulance. The closest ambulance-equipped station is eight miles (13 kilometers) away in Kailua-Kona.
The Big Island has not added a new ambulance to its fleet of 15 in more than a decade despite the island’s growth. Its population has increased by about 33,000 people since 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau numbers.
The mandated ambulance response time in Puna and the surrounding areas is 20 minutes or less.
The response time exceeded that threshold between 16 percent and 39 percent of the time from 2010 to 2016, according to the state Department of Health.
Ambulances have exceeded the Makalei area’s 15-minute response time about 10 percent of the time.
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Information from: West Hawaii Today, http://www.westhawaiitoday.com
Wait just a minute here! The Big Island has fire stations equipped with ambulances?? 15 of them??
So when an ambulance is called the County responds? Is the transported patient assessed for the ambulance service? Or is the ambulance service included as a County service?
It appears to me that all the ambulances here on Kauai are privately run, and they cost plenty for us to utilize. Does the State pay for those ambulances? Do monies paid for ambulance service here on Kauai end up in the State coffers or in the coffers of private corporations?
This story is worth pursuing. Please let’s have a follow up explaining the current situation.