HPR talked to Kapiʻolani Medical Center COO Gidget Ruscetta about the ongoing labor contract negotiations — and the latest strike and lockout. She said the hospital remains fully staffed with a temporary workforce.
The state currently requires midwives to be licensed with very limited exemptions for traditional methods. A First Circuit Court ruling in late July temporarily put an injunction on the law, allowing for Native Hawaiian cultural practitioners to practice traditional midwifery.