COVID-19 Information

At this time, all of our facilities are open with restrictions on visitors. See updated visitor policy below.

In conjunction with Maui’s Mayor Mike Victorino’s emergency “work from home and stay at home” order, we have instituted a no-visitor policy at all of our hospitals and facilities as of March 25, 2020. No visitors are allowed, with the following exceptions:

• One (1) visitor per pediatric patient, limited to parents or legal guardians.
• One (1) visitor per obstetric (OB) patient.

For the full visitor policy, click here.

We encourage visitors to remain closely connected to their loved ones through virtual means, including Skype, FaceTime, and/or phone. Thank you for your understanding as we implement the necessary precautions to protect the health and safety of our patients, staff and community.

To protect both you, hospital staff, and patients of the hospital, there are no visitors on COVID-19 isolation units. We are able to support virtual visiting which nursing can help to facilitate.

Maui Health has the ability to test our patients for the virus, but we are NOT a walk-in or drive-up community testing site. If testing is warranted, per the latest CDC and health authority guidance, we will make the appropriate arrangements for testing for our patients.

Maui residents and visitors who feel they should be tested can call the Maui County COVID-19 testing site to make an appointment at (808) 270-7228. You will not be screened without an appointment. Calls will be answered from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If the line is busy, do not leave a message.

Please note that per CDC and HDOH guidance, not all sick patients should be tested. Click here to view HDOH’s current recommendations for testing. Anyone with symptoms should call their healthcare provider, or the Maui County testing site, first. Please help protect health employees and others around you by not showing up to a clinic, hospital, or screening site without being assessed over the phone first. The COVID-19 situation is still rapidly evolving and recommendations for testing may change. For the most recent updates on testing in Hawaii, visit www.hawaiicovid19.com/screening.

IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, CALL 911.

Yes. We follow strict environmental cleaning protocols to ensure our facilities are always clean and sterile for all our patients and visitors. We have been working on confronting highly infectious diseases for years, and we are confident we can safely treat patients who have been infected with this virus, with very little risk to our other patients and employees. This includes personal protective equipment (PPE) and protocols for screening, testing, isolation, treatment, and environmental cleaning.

If you were possibly exposed, you would have received a certified letter from us informing you of your potential exposure.

To help ensure we have capacity and equipment to care for the most critically ill patients and minimize patients and visitors to our facilities, we’ve asked community surgeons on Maui to assess all elective or non-urgent procedures scheduled for the next few weeks to determine which of those can be safely rescheduled for a later date. Providers will be contacting their patients directly to reschedule and answer any questions.

Thank you for your understanding. Our priority continues to be the health and safety of our patients and keeping our staff safe and healthy so that they can continue to care for our community.

As we focus on addressing community needs related to COVID-19, we have made the decision to cancel community events and meetings, including donated in-kind use of our auditorium and other meeting spaces, until further notice. We have also put auxiliary/volunteer services on hold at this time, including the MMMC gift shop, and Kula Auxiliary and Thrift Store, which are closed until further notice. This helps ensure our care facilities mitigate the risk of infection and all available resources are accessible to patients in need of medical care during this critical time. We will continue to assess the evolving COVID-19 situation and will communicate any updates to this decision. Thank you for your understanding.

Maui Health leadership has formed a COVID-19 Response Team to help prepare our staff and facilities for potentially large numbers of patients or community members who may become ill. The team is working closely with local and national health experts including the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is focused on a comprehensive plan to protect and support our teams while providing safe, high-quality care to our patients and community.

We are also actively engaged with Kaiser Permanente’s (KP) national 24/7 command center. Our affiliation with KP provides us the opportunity to leverage their expertise and their experience caring for current COVID-19 cases throughout different KP regions, as well as preparing for any outbreak. We can also lean on other KP regions for staffing and supplies, should the need arise.

We are closely monitoring our supply chains to identify any potential shortages, and have developed surge plans to expand our capabilities, if needed, to ensure we meet the medical needs of our community. As we do every flu season, we have contingency plans in place to manage both higher numbers of patients in our facilities and illnesses among staff.

As in all cases of emerging infectious diseases, we are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to follow the latest science and guidance from public health authorities, which could change as more is understood about this virus. We are prepared to make changes as required by the quickly evolving situation.

Maui Health has been taking proactive steps to reduce the risk of infection among its employees, staff, and community. In addition to a no-visitor policy and pre-entry screening at all of our hospitals and emergency rooms, we have canceled all non-emergent procedures. This helps reduce the number of patients and visitors in our hospitals and ensures we have the capacity and equipment to care for the most critically ill patients. See visiting hours and elective procedures below for additional information.

Employee protocols include asking sick employees to stay home, canceling large meetings and staff travel, increasing the use of teleworking among staff, and continuing to educate our staff and promote preventative measures with a focus on social distancing, proper handwashing, hygiene, and cleaning and disinfection protocols.

We have protocols in place to address situations when employees and physicians are exposed to the virus to ensure that we can protect them and others from additional risk. Staff at all our medical centers routinely run drills using various emergency scenarios, including detection and treatment of infectious diseases. As COVID-19 protocols are updated, we can quickly adjust and implement as needed, to maintain compliance with national guidelines.

Keeping our hospital(s) clean consists of three components: evidence-based cleaning protocols, staff training, and approved disinfectant solutions. Our hospital protocols are developed based on industry standards and reviewed by our hospital quality and infection control teams.

All areas of the hospital(s) are cleaned on a routine basis including common areas and specific items such as door handles, elevator and vending machine buttons, and handrails.

Maui Memorial is contracted with a local Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) company to service the hospital’s HVAC systems. Maintenance includes regular service and inspection of supply and exhaust equipment including filter changes, coil cleanings and all other manufacturer recommended checks at prescribed frequencies.

Current Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines do not recommend the use of shoe covers, and a tracing study conducted previously by the Infection Prevention Program confirmed that shoe covers are a source of infection spread.

All staff are allowed to wear PPE and PPE is provided to them. Healthcare workers providing direct patient care are provided the appropriate PPE for the care specific to each patient.

Employees are allowed to wear their own masks and the hospital also provides masks. However, when providing direct patient care, employees are required to wear the appropriate hospital-issued mask for both the patient and their own protection.

We have seen a tremendous outpouring of support in the community and are humbled by the generosity of individuals, nonprofits, and others who are reaching out to offer their support by donating PPE. We are partnering with the Maui Health Foundation to accept PPE donations. Click here to donate or for more information. Mahalo for your support!

We understand this outbreak may be stressful for you and your family. Fear and anxiety about a disease can be overwhelming and cause strong emotions in adults and children. We encourage you to take advantage of the many free resources available from local and national agencies to support your and your family’s mental health, including the CDC’s tips for Managing Stress and Anxiety. For additional Hawaii-based resources, call the COVID-19 Information Hotline by dialing 211 from any local phone.

No, it’s not too late. We encourage our community to get the flu vaccine.

Thank you for helping us keep our phone lines open for emergency medical calls. For any general questions about COVID-19, or for help finding additional resources for you and your family, call the COVID-19 Information Hotline by dialing 211 from any local phone. You can also reach them by text and email. Click here for more information.

We can confirm we have employees that tested positive for COVID-19, however due to staff and patient confidentiality we are unable to provide any specific details.

During this unprecedented time, we must take action quickly. As we learn of patients being exposed or becoming positive, we must immediately put patients in the appropriate unit for care.