State Hospital
chief let go in
policy change

In 1995, Marvin O. St. Clair
got the hospital accredited for
the first time since 1974

By Helen Altonn
Star-Bulletin

Marvin O. St. Clair, credited with improvements that earned Hawaii State Hospital accreditation last year, has been fired in a change in the patient care system, officials said.

Patrick Johnston, Department of Health spokesman, said St. Clair "brought some strong leadership to the position" when he was hired as administrator in March 1995.

The hospital had not been accredited since 1974 and was under a court order to improve conditions.

Johnston said St. Clair "helped push through some of the changes that needed to be carried out in compliance with the 1991 settlement agreement (with the U.S. Justice Department) and helped get the hospital accredited by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations."

But Johnston said the hospital is going in a different direction now, and the department feels a leader is needed "with a different set of skills and abilities."

In the new model, he said, "The patient is really in control of the care he or she receives, and the doctor is just one part of a team that helps support that care." More focus is on rehabilitation, using community programs, he said.

Linda Fox, chief of the Adult Mental Health Division, said: "We're just adjusting our course, basically moving full tilt into community integration. We're very appreciative of what Marvin has done to date.

"He did a lot to kick this off. He was integral in getting accreditation for the hospital and really got a lot of things in place that had to be done when Justice (the Justice Department) came in. He contributed in some very good ways at the hospital."

Fox said St. Clair has been wanting to be closer to his family on the mainland, so "there was some mutuality" to the decision to replace him.

St. Clair could not be reached for comment.

He is on administrative leave until Sept. 4 when Wayne Law, who heads the Kauai Community Mental Health Center, will become interim hospital administrator.

Law has been in Honolulu helping the DOH's Adult Mental Health Division establish a controversial Honolulu Clubhouse program for mentally ill clients in the Blaisdell Hotel.

Hawaii Pacific University is fighting the Honolulu Clubhouse, expected to open next month.