hilo veterans home

The management of the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home where 26 veterans have died from COVID-19 is being replaced. Avalon Health Care Group will step aside and the East Hawaii Region of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp. will take over.

Updated: 9/23/2020, 9:42 a.m. Staff at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo have been getting death threats, according to a state emergency management official.

This comes just one day after the state released a report placing partial blame on staff for a COVID-19 outbreak that has taken the lives of 26 veterans and infected another 78 residents and staff.

Updated: 9/22/2020, 10:50 a.m. A culture of complacency among staff at the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home in Hilo was a major contributor to the rapid spread of COVID-19 throughout the facility. That’s according to a new report on the outbreak, which has claimed the lives of 25 veterans as of today and infected another 79 residents and staff.