Healthcare Association of Hawaii

Hilton Raethel, the president of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, which represents many hospitals and long-term care facilities across the state, explained staffing ratios and labor trends across the industry.

Hawaiʻi's COVID-19 test positivity rate has more than doubled in the past month. The latest data from the state health department also shows that 5% of hospital admissions tested positive for COVID-19.

There are still lots of open jobs in Hawaiʻi’s health care sector. But industry leaders are looking for different solutions to this ongoing labor shortage. Pacific Business News editor in chief A. Kam Napier has more.

The state House deferred a bill that would establish a health data exchange framework after widespread opposition from health care providers.

With Oahu Home Healthcare set to shut its doors at the end of next month, families of 100 patients are scrambling to find alternate services. But options are limited for those on Medicare and there is no short-term fix.

The head of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii said there's a “new normal” when it comes to the number of patients in local hospitals. He said that's due to an aging population and increased severity of medical issues, not a rise in COVID patients. But that demand requires more medical staff — more than is locally available.

Hawaiʻi and 32 other states are seeing an increase in cases of RSV. But health officials say that the cases of respiratory illnesses have come earlier than expected and there is no need to panic.

Hawaiʻi is one of five states that doesn’t participate in a system that allows health care workers to work under reciprocal licensing. Hilton Raethal of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii talks about the nursing shortage, as well as the closure of an air ambulance company.

COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations continue to rise in Hawaiʻi, but there’s an important difference from earlier surges. Healthcare Association of Hawaii President Hilton Raethel says 151 COVID patients are now hospitalized across the state, but only 13 of them are in intensive care.

Ever since the pandemic began, the health care industry has been scrambling to adapt to changing conditions. But the public face of hospitals and senior care facilities has been consistent: Hilton Raethel of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii. Pacific Business News Editor in Chief A. Kam Napier has more.