Audit faults state for
management of KalaupapaThe administrator of the leprosy
settlement is accused of being rude
and abusive
State health officials managing the Kalaupapa leprosy settlement on Molokai are failing to treat patients with respect and spend too much state money on their own food, travel and household goods, according to a state audit released yesterday.
State Auditor Marion Higa said members of the dwindling community of 39 former Hansen's disease patients consider Kalaupapa administrator Michael McCarten "abusive, rude and lacking in compassion."
While the state Department of Health, which has 49 employees in the community, has been meeting medical and other basic needs of Kalaupapa's remaining patients, Higa said, the community's isolation "has allowed settlement staff to escape departmental scrutiny and oversight."
She said McCarten consistently has received high marks from his superiors despite the patients' complaints.
The Molokai peninsula, bounded by high sea cliffs and inaccessible by road, was established as a quarantine site for leprosy victims in 1865. The mandatory isolation continued until 1969, when it was lifted by the state after effective medical treatments became available. Patients who wanted to stay were allowed to remain for the rest of their lives, but no new patients have been sent to the community.
Higa said in hiring McCarten, the department did not ensure his competence or compliance with his job's requirements.
"Although he met the class specifications for his position, he lacked the background and experience to work with the elderly and those with special needs," Higa said. "Nevertheless, the department has not provided him with any training in these important areas."
McCarten did not return a telephone call seeking his comments on Higa's report, although his boss defended his qualifications.
Health Director Dr. Chiyome Fukino said failure to comply with departmental policies and procedures identified in the report have been or soon will be corrected.
Fukino defended McCarten as the best-qualified candidate when he was hired 10 years ago, although she added, "In retrospect, interpersonal skills should have been part of the administrator's evaluation and will be included in the future."
"Although the patients' views play an important part in judging the administrator's skills, basing the evaluation solely on an employee's interpersonal skills or perceived lack thereof is unfair," she said.
In other areas, Higa's audit said there were problems with keeping an inventory of state property, excess compensation and excessive travel reimbursement to some staffers, including one member who received $3,000 too much.
The audit, done in June, determined that while most of the staff accepted meals provided by the department, five members were allowed to spend $12,600 for outside food and other supplies "without any formal written policies or procedures regarding eligibility requirements, spending limits or limitations of the kinds of goods that can be purchased."
Fukino noted that part of the administrator's job is to host numerous dignitaries and other individuals.