Parents want psych
unit to stay openAs key doctors depart, Maui
officials hope to hire an specialist
in adolescent psychiatry
WAILUKU » Judy Acosta hopes an adolescent mental health unit won't shut down at the end of May so her son can continue to receive help.
"He's scared a lot. He can't even go to school," said Acosta, a single parent who works as a housekeeper.
The closure, described as temporary by Maui Memorial Medical Center officials, means juveniles will receive emergency treatment at the hospital, but those requiring inpatient mental health care will be sent to facilities on Oahu beginning Tuesday.
"It is our understanding that there is limited space available on Oahu," said Wesley Lo, the center's chief operating officer.
Acosta and other parents of children requiring mental health services held a news conference yesterday to convey their desire to keep an adolescent mental health unit at Maui Memorial.
Hospital officials, who also attended the news conference, said they were working on a plan to hire a physician specializing in adolescent psychiatry as an employee -- a first for the medical center. This would allow the program to continue.
Wesley Lo, the hospital's chief operating officer, said the facility is being closed temporarily because the two psychiatrists specializing in treating children are leaving Maui for personal reasons.
Lo said the two psychiatrists, who were not employed by the hospital but on the staff enjoying hospital privileges, were on 24-hour call too often, in addition to their private practices.
He said one of them was on 24-hour call about 16 days a month.
Lo said to reduce the burden on a single physician, the hospital hopes to split 24-hour, on-call responsibility among many doctors with specialty in adolescent psychiatry.
Hospital officials acknowledge they expect some difficulties because there are probably only a handful of psychiatrists qualified to treat children on Maui and there is a shortage of such professionals nationally.
Lo said the field is very small because a psychiatrist usually needs two additional years of training to become qualified to treat mental health problems in children.
Maui Memorial will hold a community meeting at 9 a.m. June 15 in the hospital auditorium to provide information on the status of adolescent mental health services on Maui.
While Maui's adolescent mental health unit averages about two clients daily, it has been a critical safety net for youths, said Pukalani resident Pamela Tumpap, whose bipolar son has stayed there.
"If it wasn't for the adolescent unit for youths, I really question whether I'd have my son or not," said Tumpap.
Maui Memorial Medical Center
http://www.mmmc.hhsc.org