Department of Health

The proportion of U.S. kindergartners exempted from school vaccination requirements has hit its highest level ever, 3%, according to a recent report from the CDC. Hawaiʻi saw the largest jump, with the exemption rate rising to 6.4%, nearly double the year before. The Conversation's Catherine Cruz spoke to a state Department of Health immunization expert about Hawaiʻi's vulnerability to disease outbreaks.

The current contract for ground ambulance transportation on Kauaʻi and Maui counties has been extended through the end of September 2024. The state Department of Health Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee meeting on Monday said the American Medical Response will continue providing services in the counties.

A former Hawaiʻi psychiatric hospital patient has been indicted on a murder charge in the stabbing death of a nurse at the facility. Court records also show Tommy Kekoa Carvalho pleaded guilty to a 2020 assault of a state mental health worker.

As fire debris removal efforts led by the Army Corps of Engineers move forward in Upcountry Maui, residents have ongoing health concerns about living in a burn zone with a lack of official communication and data. Debris removal at the first two burned home sites is complete, with more underway. HPR's Catherine Cluett Pactol reports.

A former patient at the state psychiatric hospital is under arrest after the fatal stabbing of a nurse. Police say the 29-year-old male staff member was stabbed multiple times at Hawaiʻi State Hospital.

The state Department of Health has placed more air monitors in and around Kula and Lāhainā in response to the concerns of local residents. Monitors are already in place at schools in the area and have recently been added in high schools on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi, according to Kathleen Ho, the department's deputy director of environmental health.

The U.S. military plans to begin draining fuel from World War II-era underground fuel tanks on Oʻahu. Work to drain the 104 million gallons remaining in the tanks is scheduled to begin on Monday. The operation comes nearly two years after the facility sickened 6,000 people when it leaked jet fuel into a Pearl Harbor drinking water well.

Maui wildfire survivors may get a call from the state Department of Health asking about their health care needs. From Monday through Wednesday, the DOH said they plan to call a random selection of residents affected by the fires.

Last month the hospital census count put Hawaiʻi at the top of COVID-19 hotspots across the country. The Conversation spoke with Dr. Sarah Kemble, state epidemiologist, Wednesday afternoon about the snapshot of cases and when the public might see the first doses of the latest booster shot available.

The state Department of Health has investigated more than 220 uncertified care homes in the last four years. Eleven have been shut down, and more than $2 million have been collected in fines. A law to bar the referral or transfer to unlicensed care facilities became effective this month, with $1,000 penalties for each day of infractions.