Judy Donovan

KCH Looks to Grow Staff Through Specialty Hires, New Accredited Program

By Tiffany DeMasters
November 9, 2021, 2:00 PM HST

Hospital is looking at long-term solutions to expand and bolster its workforce.

As the last of the federally-funded health care workers leave the island this week, KCH has begun efforts in building out staff, from starting recently graduated nurses in specialty units to offering a nine-month surgical tech program.

Stephanie Irwin, KCH Director of Education, said the hospital is looking at hiring in more specialty areas, including the emergency room. For the first time in KCH’s recent history, the hospital hired a newly graduated nursing student from Hawaiʻi Community College at Palamanui in 2020 into the behavioral health unit, which is considered a specialty.

“There’s a nursing shortage and being able to start someone in a specialty area is exciting,” Irwin told Big Island Now.

KCH hires about three nurses a year from the nursing program at Palamnui. Officials say these new hires typically work six months in the Med Surge Acute unit before moving into a specialty.

The last graduating class at Palamanui in May brought in three nurses as RPN II’s. Aside from the specialty unit hire, the remaining two were assigned to Med Surge Acute units.

“The newly graduated nurses are assigned to a senior nurse who will orient them for six months,” said KCH spokesperson Judy Donovan. “Once their six-month orientation is completed, they will be RPN IIIs.”

Kathleen Kotecki, retired associate professor of nursing from Palamanui, said while there is a need for nurses, there is a shortage in positions available for newly graduated nursing students. The idea of moving new nurses directly into specialty units may help with that as KCH is not limited to just those positions offered to new health care workers.

“Looking at the big picture, we’d have to expand the program so we could graduate more students,” Kotecki said. “Getting more admissions to the nursing program is key. We need new, younger nurses.”

Additionally, Donovan said the goal is to hire three graduated nurses every year with the hope to increase the number to five.

“We will continue this practice in an effort to grow workforce from (within) our local community,” Donovan said.

In an effort to grow from within, KCH will begin its newly accredited surgical tech program, which is set to start in August 2022 with three students, who are currently employed at KCH. Upon completion of the program, the health care workers will be certified to be integral members of the surgical team at KCH.

Irwin said this will be the only program of its kind on the Big Island. It will also be the first accredited program launched at KCH.

“This is a specialized employee position that is difficult to fill,” Donovan said. “Currently, we have a full-time surgical technologist who is also an instructor. We recognized the opportunity to develop a program that will fill an existing employee gap.”

Irwin, a Palamanui nursing graduate, has worked at KCH for 12 years. While it can be wonderful to hire nurses outside the state, Irwin said it can also be hit and miss as they come and end up not staying on the island.

“But when we hire within, itʻs amazing how long they stay,” Irwin said.

KCH currently has 10 full-time positions open, including in the ICU, ER, floats and imaging. Additionally, the in-house lab, Clinical Laboratories is struggling with staffing.

Donovan said the hospital started with 42 FEMA-funded clinicians during the spike of the coronavirus cases over the summer, including critical care nurses, respiratory therapists and imaging staff. Nine of those workers remain as a majority of the health care workers left two weeks ago.

With their contract officially ending on Thursday, Nov. 13, Donovan said four of the FEMA-funded workers have expressed interest in converting to a standard agency contract.

See story by West Hawaii Today

545 Kona Community Hospital employees test negative for COVID-19

By Laura Ruminski West Hawaii Today lruminski@westhawaiitoday.com | Sunday, July 19, 2020, 12:05 a.m.                                 

https://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2020/07/19/hawaii-news/545-kona-community-hospital-employees-test-negative-for-covid-19/

Kona Community Hospital said Saturday that all but three of the 548 COVID-19 tests administered to staff on Thursday have come back negative for the virus.

The other three tests remain pending, with two outstanding and still with the lab and the third under review, according to hospital spokesperson Judy Donovan. Those results will be reported when results are confirmed with the lab.

Additionally, KCH nursing tested all 43 inpatients on the same day as a precaution, Donovan said. All results were negative with the exception of one patient, whose status was previously reported.

“We are very pleased with today’s test results, and look forward to the final tests coming back from the lab.” said Interim Chief Nurse, Stephanie Irwin. “Our staff have trained diligently in best practices for infection prevention, and today’s results verify their level of commitment to providing safe care.”

Kona Community Hospital held the mandatory on-site COVID-19 testing clinic for all staff and affiliated employees, physicians and contractors working on campus after three employees tested positive for the virus. Dr. Scott Miscovich and the Premier Medical Group Hawaii operated the pop-up testing clinic for staff.

On Saturday, a pop-up testing clinic to screen hospital families, visitors and discharged patients as well community members concerned about potential COVID exposure was held on Saturday at the West Hawaii Civic Center.

Donovan said results of Saturday’s testing will not be available until at least Monday. An estimate on the number of persons who came to the event wasn’t available as of press-time Saturday.

In order to keep staff and patients safe and ensure that the hospital is “COVID-free,” KCH and Premier Medical Group Hawaii will conduct up to three additional on-site testing clinics. Additional testing, which is the “gold standard” for detection.

On Monday, all staff providing direct patient care will be retested because they are considered high risk. On Friday, all hospital personnel, affiliated staff, providers and contractors will be tested again.

Depending on results from those tests, additional testing may be conducted on July 30.

The hospital still has a no visitor policy in place with exceptions for OB, pediatrics and those receiving end-of-life care.

See story by West Hawaii Today

‘We needed to test everybody’: Kona hospital testing all employees, providers after 3 test positive for COVID-19

By Laura Ruminski West Hawaii Today lruminski@westhawaiitoday.com | Friday, July 17, 2020, 12:05 a.m.

In a swift reaction to the news that three employees at Kona Community Hospital tested positive for COVID-19, the facility’s entire staff was tested for the coronavirus on Thursday.

Hospital spokesperson Judy Donovan said leadership learned of the first positive test on Friday and when the second confirmed case showed up on Tuesday, the team sprang into action.

“After the first confirmed case, we began to mobilize internally with track-and-trace,” said Donovan. “After Tuesday, we knew we needed to test everybody.”

That is when the hospital reached out Dr. Scott Miscovich of Premier Medical Group, which has been conducting pop-up screenings throughout the state and is an international COVID testing consultant.

“He said, ‘we’ll take care of everybody,’” said Donovan.

Within two days, Miscovich and his team were set up to test the Kealakekua hospital’s 470 employees plus providers, contractors, vendors and patients.

“We’re testing the full facility, 100%,” said Miscovich. “We are here to give the community assurance that the hospital will be 100% COVID-free.”

Members of the Hawaii Fire Department, EMS and the National Guard and volunteers joined Premier Medical Group staff from Oahu and the Big Island to conduct the seamless tests.

“We need to find the clusters of asymptomatic patients and isolate them because they can pass the virus to others,” said Miscovich, explaining that the virus has a five- to six-day incubation period and approximately 40% of those infected are asymptomatic. “This is how the state and county needs to address it.”

He added they are not going to stop this process until there are no active cases.

“We want this to be the model for the state,” Miscovich said of the effort.

Critical area employees, those who work in intensive care unit (ICU), emergency room, respiratory therapy, medical/surgical, imaging and lab started the testing day at 5:45 a.m. Thursday. Those employees were given the rapid test and nasal swab. If the rapid test indicated a positive result, the employee was to be immediately isolated.

Batches of nasal swabs were flown to Honolulu throughout the morning with results expected in 24 hours.

Interim Chief Nurse Executive Stephanie Irwin said the hospital’s goal was to quickly sweep through the staff.

“We want to take care of our community because our community has a partnership with us,” she said.

Follow-up tests will be performed in four days for staff in critical areas and in eight days for all employees.

Premier Medical will also have a pop-up drive-through test clinic from 8 a.m. to noon this Saturday at the West Hawaii Civic Center parking lot. The event is geared toward family of staff, patients, visitors and anyone who came through the hospital on or after July 8 and may be concerned about possible exposure.

Irwin said those coming to Saturday’s testing should bring their insurance card and ID.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 204 patients at KCH have been tested with six positive results for COVID-19, Donovan said. Three of those cases were inpatient with the remaining three outpatients coming through the emergency room and able to isolate at home.

The hospital still has a no visitor policy in place with exceptions for OB, pediatrics and those receiving end-of-life care.

“We are doing this because it’s the right thing to do,” said Jay Kreuzer, the hospital’s acting CEO.

COVID-19 crisis suppresses visits to Big Isle hospitals, clinics

 By STEPHANIE SALMONS Hawaii Tribune-Herald | Monday, May 18, 2020, 12:05 a.m.

Fewer patients are visiting Big Island emergency rooms and urgent care clinics due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and that is having a negative impact on their revenue.

Dan Brinkman, East Hawaii Regional CEO, Hawaii Health Systems Corp., said Hilo Medical Center averaged between 4,000 and 4,200 visits a month prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders issued by Gov. David Ige.

The hospital is now averaging between 2,800 and 3,000 visits, a 38% to 40% percent decline.

“It’s understandable, given the request for the governor’s order to stay at home,” Brinkman said. “I think a lot of people have taken that very serious, as we can see with the low COVID rates on our island, and I think our community has done a really good job following those directives.”

Because of those directives, Brinkman said people are limiting activities. There are fewer accidents, no more cruise visitors and fewer trauma injuries.

That’s resulted in fewer emergency room visits, but Brinkman said he’s concerned some patients are following the stay-at-home order to their detriment and seeking care after waiting far too long to do so.

“We’re seeing less overall patients in the ER. However, of the patients that we see, we’re admitting a higher percentage of them because they’re sicker.”

Brinkman said there’s been an increase in the number of patients admitted from the emergency room — up from about 12% to 17%-18%

“It’s a phenomenon that’s happening across the country,” said Brinkman. “Patients are sicker, waiting perhaps a bit long for their care. It’s understandable, but we’re hopeful as the community starts to reopen (and) some of the restrictions are lifted, that trend will reverse itself and people will feel more comfortable getting the care they need.”

But a decline in patients means a big hit to the hospital’s finances.

Brinkman said the hospital is projecting a $26 million drop in revenue through the end of the calendar year.

“We’ve seen declines in our elective surgeries, in clinic visits. Collectively, it’s cost us a lot.”

That projection, however, could balloon should there be a surge in COVID-19 cases.

According to Brinkman, combined revenue for the East Hawaii Region, which also includes the hospitals in Ka‘u and Honokaa, is around $260 million.

The hospital has received $21 million in federal funding as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“That will offset a good portion of that $26 million, which is good news,” Brinkman said. “We also started this whole crisis in pretty solid financial condition, so we have some reserves.”

HMC’s goal is to avoid reductions in services or layoffs or pay cuts, despite the persistence of the virus threat, he said.

“We’re hopeful we can manage that transition, because all hospitals are going to have to adjust their services, adjust how they’re going to do their business. Our goal is to do that without disrupting the health care in the community.”

Elsewhere in Hilo, declining patient counts are having a similar impact.

“As far as the numbers are concerned, we’re probably down about 60% of the patient load we normally see,” said Brenda Dunne, director of operations at Hilo Urgent Care.

Revenue is down about 60%, too.

Looking into her parking lot Friday, Dunne said there was maybe one car that didn’t belong to her staff, “which is really scary, because normally Monday and Friday are our busiest days.”

Typically, she has two doctors and three nurses working those days, but had to cut back to one doctor and two nurses.

“We’re happy that people are being safe, but as far as business is concerned, I don’t know how we’re going to do it if it continues to be this way,” Dunne said.

Making the situation more difficult, Dunne said, is the clinic’s income is based solely on patients who visit.

“If we don’t have patients coming in, we don’t have income coming in,” she said. “Every single patient are our paychecks. We do not have any funding from the state or from the federal government. That’s a huge hit for us.”

The clinic did apply for and received help from the Paycheck Protection Program, a U.S. Small Business Administration loan that helps businesses keep their workforces employed during the COVID-19 crisis.

“… When that is out, we shall see,” Dunn said.

The number of emergency room visits are down in other Big Island hospitals, too.

At Kona Community Hospital, a part of the Hawaii Health Systems Corp., emergency room visits are down as well.

Chief Financial Officer Dean Herzog said the hospital’s emergency room had about 65 visits per day before stay-at-home orders were implemented but now have about 30.

Admissions also decreased from about 300 per month to about 200, and demand for all services is down by about 33%, he said.

Herzog said, too, that all hospital revenues are down by about a third, but federal stimulus dollars will help offset the losses. He did not say how much money the hospital will be receiving.

Apart from COVID-19 testing, which is available in its emergency room, ER visits to Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital in Waimea have decreased between 20% and 30%, spokeswoman Lynn Scully said.

Like HMC, Scully said NHCH’s biggest concern is making sure people get the care that is needed and not waiting.

“It is usually easier to treat things earlier instead of waiting,” she said. “Emergencies don’t stop because of a pandemic, and we would like the community to know that their local emergency rooms are open and available for people’s urgent needs 24/7.”

Medical staff honored with flyover

By West Hawaii Today Staff | Saturday, May 16, 2020, 12:05 a.m.

Staff from two Hawaii Island hospitals made it outside Thursday to see the Hawaii Air National Guard and 15th Wing Active Duty Airmen from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam perform a flyover in a salute to all frontline workers battling COVID-19.

The KC-135 Stratotanker flew over Kona Community Hospital and North Hawaii Community Hospital Thursday afternoon as part of routine training sorties.

Inspired by the Air Force’s Operation American Resolve Salutes campaign, the flyover was intended to provide a salute to all the health care professionals, frontline responders, and essential personnel working to keep everyone safe and healthy during these unique times.