News

Mayor Victorino, Island Senators and Representatives tour/visit Maui Memorial Medical Center

Wailuku, Maui, HI (April 29, 2020) – Yesterday, Maui Memorial Medical Center (MMMC) welcomed Mayor Mike Victorino, Senator Gil Keith-Agaran, Representative Justin Woodson, Representative Troy Hashimoto, and Senator Rosalyn Baker for an outdoor tour of the hospital’s COVID-19 response areas. “I appreciate the opportunity to come and visit today and see all the things that are being done, said Senator Keith-Agaran, “and I wanted to express appreciation that we all have for everyone that works here at the hospital.”

The tour was conducted outside because of the no visitor policy currently in place to further protect patients and employees from COVID-19. Guests were greeted by members of the Emergency Operations Center, the Emergency Department, Employee Health and senior hospital leadership. Guests were immediately fever and symptom screened for COVID-19 by MMMC nurses and were provided masks and a screening verification sticker to be worn during their visit. Representative Hashimoto said, “we are glad to be here with each of you to hear what you’re doing and to assist through any means we can.”

The group was shown the Emergency Department outdoor screening station that greets every arriving patient, and screens for COVID-19 symptoms before entering the emergency department. The guests learned about the comprehensive efforts by the medical staff, nurses and other caregivers to keep patients, the community and employees safe.

“We are proud to welcome island leaders to our hospital and show them how we are caring for the community through this pandemic,” said Dr. Vijak X. Ayasanonda, vice chair of the emergency department, “we know this is an unsettling time, but we want to reassure our community that it is safe to receive care here.” Representative Woodson shared a personal experience his family recently had with the hospital, “…we had to rush to the ER, we were terrified because we didn’t know what was going to happen, but every person that we interacted with was extremely professional, very competent and most importantly everyone cared.” He continued “this experience really gave us a sense of security, sense of assurance and a sense of calmness that if we ever needed to come to the hospital that you folks would all be here for us.”

The outpouring of support for the community was also on display when they were shown an assortment of donations received by Maui Health Foundation. These donations include a variety of supplies, personal protective equipment and many food products.

The visit concluded with their attendance and participation in the bi-weekly employee virtual town hall meetings hosted by the Emergency Operations Center and senior leadership. The town halls share the latest updates on the hospital’s COVID-19 response efforts. Hundreds of listeners joined the call as the leaders expressed their gratitude and support of Maui Memorial Medical Center. Mayor Victorino said “I want to say mahalo to all of the caregivers out there. You are our frontline heroes.” Senator Baker shared her sentiment, “We are so proud of all of our first responders, our frontline nurses, doctors and technicians and everyone who makes sure we have the very best possible care on Maui. Just know that we’re with you.”

Photos: Valley Isle leaders take an outdoor tour of the Maui Memorial Medical Center COVID-19 response areas including the MMMC Outpatient Clinic and Emergency Department.

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About Maui Health
Maui Health, aka Maui Health System, community hospitals and associated clinics affiliated with Kaiser Permanente, includes Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital, Lanai Community Hospital and associated clinics, and serves the people of Maui and Lanai. The facilities under Maui Health employ more than 1500 Maui County residents, partner with over 460 hospital-based physicians, clinicians, and community-based primary and specialty physicians, and are open to all patients regardless of health insurance coverage. Maui Health is committed to delivering high quality, affordable, patient-centered health care and improving the health of the community. Maui Health is supported by Kaiser Permanente’s industry-leading technology systems, evidence-based medicine and nationally recognized care quality. For more information, visit mauihealth.org.