HMSA announces partnerships to get expectant moms obstetrician care

The Hawaii Medical Service Association is partnering with Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center, Queen’s University Medical Group and Hawaii Independent Physicians Association to get expectant moms care on Maui, even while there’s an obstetrician shortage.

Previously, HMSA’s immediate, short-term solution for expectant Maui moms included arranging travel and appointments for them to receive care on Oʻahu with Queen’s physicians, even though flying moms-to-be is less than ideal. But now Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center, a well-established federally qualified health center, has expanded its capacity to accommodate all moms on Maui who need care on-island.

“We believe maternity care is vitally important, and HMSA is committed to ensuring our members have access to quality, affordable care,” said Dr. Stefanie Park, HMSA vice president and chief medical officer. “We are grateful to our health care provider partners who stepped up to create this solution for our Maui moms and hope this is the start of greater stability and access to care on Maui.”

Mālama Chief Executive Officer John Vaz said staff at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center pivoted to meet the sudden gap in obstetric care on Maui.

“The HMSA team quickly became thought partners with us toward a solution,” he said. “They recognized that this problem affected the whole community of Maui and not just their
members. In our conversations, HMSA showed appreciation for the work Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center has done in providing uninterrupted care for the community over 30 years. I’m excited their team would like our health center to be one of their partners in a longer-term and
sustainable solution for obstetric access on Maui.”

HMSA’s current solution to Maui’s obstetrician shortage includes the following:

• Working with the Mālama health center to expand its clinic space and helping it add another local physician to its obstetrician group at the end of 2023.
• Collaborating with Queen’s to add full-time obstetricians who will live and work on Maui. (Until new obstetricians are onboarded, Queen’s created rotating on-island coverage with some of its most experienced obstetricians, including: Drs. Bliss Kaneshiro, Robb K. Ohtani, Shandhini Raidoo and Reni A. Soon.
• Assisting the Hawaii Independent Physicians Association with locating and providing clinical space for additional obstetrician presence on Maui. (For example, the Kahului practice location of recently retired Dr. Colleen Inouye has been identified since it is modernized and equipped for Queen’s physicians to rotate into.)

HMSA continues to work with Hawaiʻi Pacific Health to coordinate care for babies who may need access to neonatal intensive care unit services on Oʻahu.