To balance some of the misinformation and exaggerated claims about the Hawai'i Health Systems Corp. Maui Region governance bill, we at the helm of the Maui Region would like to share our position and intentions as they relate to SB 1792.

The intent of the bill is to give accountability, authority and transparency to the Maui administrators, while engaging our community, physicians and legislators.

We are in a time of tremendous opportunity as we create a master plan for healthcare delivery across the eastern half of the state. We can and we will create a center of excellence with the expansion of our incredibly successful Heart, Brain and Vascular Center, bringing angioplasty and open-heart surgery here within a year.

However, to continue our growth and momentum, we must have a separate corporation or we will not have the authority or the necessary resources to see our plans through. Those plans for improved patient care depend on SB 1792 being passed in its original form

Maui Memorial Medical Center has had six administrators in the past 12 years, often appointed with little participation by physicians and the community. This has resulted in an almost-constant rift between our management company, Hawai'i Health Systems Corp. and our physicians and staff, with the dissatisfaction spilling over into the community.

The physicians and the community have wanted change at Maui Memorial for years, and the culmination of this was an effort to develop a competing hospital on Maui that is not connected to the bureaucracy of Maui Memorial or HHSC. Our community became divided as many joined in on the call for a new hospital.

Real or perceived, there is a distinct lack of faith in the ability of the current structure to be effective in making the necessary changes to address healthcare on Maui.

The Maui Advisory Committee, which is made up of concerned community and physician members, shed some light on the issues facing Maui Memorial as they relate to HHSC. The advisory committee concluded that HHSC's leadership did not provide real strategic direction.

While it is important to maintain a safety net of services, one that provides some form of healthcare in rural areas, we now question whether the model that has evolved today is the most effective, given the current healthcare environment.

To succeed, hospitals must adapt to the quickly changing healthcare landscape. A myriad of complex issues, including a changing reimbursement schedule, new and more advanced technology, and staffing shortages, demand quick action. While the intent of HHSC was noble, it has not been able to accommodate this new model because of the broad, unfocused charge given to it.

With this bill, our duties will be delineated so that HHSC can focus on its core strengths, which should be administrative tasks that are systemwide, such as purchasing, information technology, quality, human resources, legal, accounting — all functions that we intend to continue to be involved with in regard to HHSC. We are determined to operate more efficiently within the system, not to break it apart.

HHSC has made highly charged claims that this bill will cripple the healthcare system and cost the taxpayers millions of dollars, yet it doesn't substantiate these claims. This bill will not break apart the safety net system, nor will people lose their jobs.

HHSC provides no evidence that this legislation will hamper its ability to provide services to the other regions.

The experts agree that the management of healthcare must be local. To become responsive, it is imperative that the management structure be one made up of key community stakeholders. This bill provides for that. These stakeholders who will manage the Maui Region will represent a bold cross-section of our society and will have the responsibility of making the decisions that impact all of us, and therefore will have accountability and necessary transparency.

Please contact legislators and let them know that you support the passage of SB 1792. It could make a big difference for Maui's healthcare future.

Wesley Lo is the CEO of Maui Memorial Medical Center. He wrote this commentary for The Advertiser.