HILO — A bill that would have given control of Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s East Hawaii medical facilities to Hawaii County appears to have died.
HILO — A bill that would have given control of Hawaii Health Systems Corp.’s East Hawaii medical facilities to Hawaii County appears to have died.
House Bill 576 would have transferred control and operation of Hilo Medical Center, Ka’u Hospital, the Hawaii Pacific Oncology Center in Hilo and Hilo’s Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home to the County Council and Mayor Harry Kim.
The bill has been deferred, which essentially means it is unlikely to get a vote this legislative session.
Rep. Mark Nakashima, D-Hamakua, told the Tribune-Herald in January that he and the mayor had a conversation that led Nakashima to write the bill.
Nakashima said Kim wanted a wider range of services at Hilo Medical Center.