Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: In reference to a study by Kimura International of prospective sites for a juvenile sex offender treatment center, how much did it cost? It seems like the facility will end up in Pearl City anyway. Who's idea was it to do the study. I'm sure it cost a bundle, so if the governor says there is no money for teachers, why are we wasting it like that? Juvenile sex offender
center study cost $87,836Answer: The study has cost $87,836 "to date," according to Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health.
Asked who commissioned the study, she said, "The governor, in response to concerns raised by the Pearl City community, committed to complete a site selection study."
The Health Department asked the Department of Accounting and General Services to do the study and DAGS then chose Kimura International from among several qualified consultants through the state procurement process, she said.
Okubo said the study was funded by general obligation bonds (from the executive capital improvement program budget) so "would not have been available to fund teacher raises."
For now, the Health Department plans to continue the program for juvenile sex offenders, operated by Benchmark Behavioral health Systems, at the former site of Waimano Training School and Hospital in Pearl City through the current two-year contract period, which ends in June 2002.
In anticipation of that contract termination date, the department will solicit new Requests for Proposal (RFP) under the state's competitive bid selection process, Okubo said.
"All applicants will then be evaluated on their ability to offer a full range of services in a cost effective manner," she said, adding that the Kimura study will be used to develop the RFP.
Q: My grandmother was taken to the Pali Momi hospital emergency room on Friday, Feb. 2, and she passed away. Everyone was excellent that night. But when I was in the waiting room, I used my cell phone to try to call my uncles on the mainland when the lady in the office came running out and scolded me for using the phone. She said cell phones and electronics interfered with the equipment, which I can understand. But there was nothing in the emergency room saying not to use cell phones. The woman said there was a phone in the corner to use but there were other people in the waiting room.
A: Helen Young, the lead RN for the emergency room, apologized for what happened.
"We are always looking for ways to improve customer service and (your complaint) provides a good opportunity to do that," she said.
While cellular phones may affect equipment in some departments of the hospital, there is no equipment in the emergency room that would be affected, Young said.
Also, the general public usually would not be allowed in areas where equipment might be affected by cell phones, she said.
She said a memo would be issued to staff in all departments about the use of cell phones.
Young said if you have a question or complaint about emergency room procedures next time, "to call me or talk to me. We like to correct things at the time," Young said.
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