Opinion Articles

VIEWPOINT: MAUI NEWS, August 17, 2005

FULL-SERVICE HOSPITAL NEEDS SUPPORT AND MONEY TO BENEFIT ALL
by Joe Pluta, President, West Maui Taxpayers Association

More than once, Maui has proven that a properly challenged community can surmount every obstacle. We at the West Maui Improvement Foundation are now calling on the community to rally again with dollars and vocal support for the construction of a badly needed second hospital with acute-, emergency-care capability. From Kahului to Kapalua, from Haiku to Honokowai, from Wailea to Wailuku, we suffer by being the only county in the state with only one full-service hospital. Complete Text

VIEWPOINT: MAUI NEWS

LIVES ARE AT STAKE: LET'S PULL TOGETHER
by Joe Pluta, President, West Maui Taxpayers Association

With lives at stake, it's time to set the record straight on the key issue of bringing emergency health care to 50,000 residents and visitors who live or stay in West Maui. Medical experts say survival rates for heart attacks and strokes increase dramatically when victims reach a full-service hospital within the so-called golden hour. For more than four years, the West Maui Taxpayers Assn. has laid the groundwork for just such a full-service hospital, obtaining a definitive land donation from Ka'anapali Development Corp, completing the necessary environmental impact and other studies and securing pledges of support from county officials. Complete Text

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