Dr. Kenneth Fink, nominated to serve as the director of the state's Department of Health, received a positive advise and consent recommendation from the Senate’s Health and Human Services committee on Monday.
Fink, the former Medicaid director for the state, most recently served as vice president of Medicare and Medicaid Programs at the Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association.
Gov. Josh Green approached Fink to apply for the position.
"He asked me to apply for this position, I did not seek it," Fink said Monday. "Frankly, more work, less pay, more public scrutiny, more hardship on my family. I really had to discuss at length with my family if this was OK for us."
There were some concerns when Fink was first nominated about his time as Med-QUEST director, a position he held from 2008 to 2015. Then, Fink said, he had to deal with slashing the budget by $100 million during the recession, as well as implementing the Affordable Care Act in the state.
Fink inherits a DOH working with a 40% staff vacancy deficient.
"We're still coming off of the pandemic, and the people that have been there, they're tired, they're burnt out," Fink told the committee. "We're working on improving morale. It's really caring for our staff. It's recognizing what they've been through. It's finding balance in their lives."
Fink noted that the defueling of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility and mental health expansions will need to be addressed during his tenure.
Fink said he'd like the DOH to also partner with state lawmakers in a recreational cannabis program, and find ways to mitigate harm.
"I believe recreational cannabis would have net harm to the public health," Fink said. "However, that's different from making it legal. Tobacco is net harmful and it’s legal. So we're here just to provide information on the health impact, and that's our comments."
Fink still needs approval from the full Senate.
