Kokua Council demands immediate action on the part of Hawaii state government to protect its citizens and our kupuna

 

Older adults, our kupuna, are the most susceptible to the coronavirus. Kokua Council asks why required action is not being taken to protect them in the face of the drastically increased incidence of outbreaks particularly on Oahu. It is predicted that if the spread is not checked rapidly, hospital ICU capacity will be exceeded. An increase in deaths would be inevitable.

We are particularly distressed to learn of the continued inaction of our state Department of Health, in particular the refusal of DOH head Bruce Anderson and epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park to remedy the acute shortage of contract tracers that renders the program ineffective. Although Anderson has acknowledged that contact tracing is “really where the action is,” his Department has failed to launch the numbers of contact tracers who are available to provide this necessary anti-spread strategy. 450 were trained but not yet deployed. Press and legislative investigations indicate variously that either 15 or 105 contract tracers are at work – all outrageously overloaded. This cannot continue.

Nor has Governor David Ige yet interceded. This is an administrative management failure that is his responsibility to resolve.

Related failures that can only contribute to an increasing death rate, in particular among our kupuna, have been reported in the press or social media: an article on Civil Beat alleges that the DOH is not providing mobility data that could indicate how people are aggregating. Another DOH failure to protect us was highlighted in a social media post alleging that Hawaii is not conducting the baseline testing in kupuna care facilities required by federal guidelines.

Our state government is now failing in its efforts to control the pandemic. While just a few weeks ago the state basked in the statistics that we were among the healthiest states in handling the virus, that glow quickly faded as the increasing numbers of those infected propelled Hawaii into the state where the virus is most rapidly spreading.

Urgent action must be taken now, right now.

In March, weeks before Governor Ige issued “stay-at-home” orders, the Kokua Council held a conference asking the government to address its plans to protect older adults. In an April Kokua Council conference, long term care ombudsman John McDermott and his colleagues addressed their concerns regarding the vulnerability of residents and caregivers in nursing homes and long term care facilities. Their foreboding has come to pass. On a daily basis we learn of infections in more and more facilities. In recent days the passing of older adults has also become a daily statistic.

Kokua Council asks, no we demand, that Hawaii’s government take immediate action to protect all of its citizens, and especially its vulnerable kupuna population.