State mental health
director agrees to stay

State and legislative officials
will support Hester's requests

Problems surrounding the resignation of state Adult Mental Health chief Thomas Hester appear to be settled.

Thomas Hester: He quit after a federal court removed him from a project he designed

After meeting yesterday with administration and state health officials, House Health Vice Chairman Joshua Green said, "Dr. Hester is staying."

"We're backing this guy, and we are going to help him get his job done," said Green (D, N. Kona-Keauhou-Honokohau), adding that he believes they will be able to work with the U.S. District Court.

Hester quit last week because "he felt that he couldn't do his job completely based on potential (court) oversight he would be forced to comply with. All he wants to do is take care of patients and help us resolve this consent decree of 1991," said Green, a Kona doctor.

Gov. Linda Lingle said yesterday on the KHVH Rick Hamada radio show that Hester had agreed to stay after she and her chief of staff, Bob Awana, met with him Tuesday.

She said Hester had quit because his authority over a community mental health plan was eroded by court monitoring.

Lingle said she expected her administration to make some requests to the federal judge to redefine the relationship between Department of Health and Mental Health Division leaders and the court.

She spoke highly of Hester and his achievements in trying to improve the state mental health system under a court order stemming from a U.S. Justice Department lawsuit against the state.

Legislators held an informational briefing Tuesday at the state Capitol about Hester's resignation and two others in the Adult Mental Health Division.

"All (state Health Director Dr. Chiyome) Fukino wants is for him to be able to do his job," Green said. "All the Governor's Office wants is for him to be able to do his job. All we at the Legislature want -- me more than anyone because I'm a doctor -- is for Dr. Hester to do his job for the people and the state. That's what we agreed to.

"We cannot afford for people with mental problems to be concerned that they're not going to get the support they need," he said.

Green said Fukino had been looking into the issue before the briefing.

He said "the whole crux of it" is whether the state needs a federal court evaluation committee with people from outside the state to help complete a community mental health plan, due next June.

Hester designed the court-ordered plan and had completed 74 of 88 tasks outlined in it when he said he was removed from the project in a restructuring after the federal team was here.

"If the court feels it's necessary to have some sort of evaluation committee, we're going to have to deal with it," Green said, pointing out the state can choose whether to follow the advice.

Whatever recommendation is made, he said, "Dr. Hester is committed to the patients, and the state is committed to him."

He said, "We need for people of Hawaii to understand we are going to work together to make sure the consent decree is properly satisfied, and most importantly that mental health care in Hawaii continues to improve.

"A year from today, if everything goes well, the state of Hawaii will emerge from the consent decree in good status," Green said.