Hailoha-Health Set To Expand To Big Island Despite Concerns

Hailoha’s latest offering, Hailoha-Health, was launched late last year to much fanfare. The service targeting: healthcare providers, hospitals, imaging facilities, clinics, and those unable to drive themselves to appointments, has driven a rocky road over the past 3 months. Despite numerous complaints about the service, particularly by a wide range of Lahaina medical professionals, Hailoha has announced they plan to expand the service to the Island of Hawai’i by this summer.

Nella Lawe, Hailoha Vice President, says the company saw a need for a healthcare transportation service, and stepped in to fill the gap. “As alarming as it may seem, more than 4 million American’s miss medical appointments because they don’t have access to transportation, or the money to afford the exorbitant price of traditional healthcare transportation. Hailoha-Health has saved lives.”

The company says that Hailoha-Health offers the sick and infirmed a reliable and efficient way to get to appointments. They say patients enjoy that their drivers are their neighbors, making what can sometimes be a anxiety-ridden experience more pleasant. Hailoha says that all their drivers are trained in HIPAA compliance and standards. In addition, the service is designed so medical centers can book rides on behalf of clients using Hailoha’s customer booking dashboard.

“We go to great lengths to protect client privacy. Medical data is never stored or handled by our drivers. The only information your driver ever knows is your name, where you are, and where you need to go. We’re not an ambulance service, but we are handling another type of emergency in the medical field. We’ve already seen a 20% uptick in clients making their appointments thanks to our service, and I’m sure that’s just the beginning,” says Lawe.

However, not everyone believes that the what the company is offering is good medicine. Many healthcare professionals have lodged complaints about the service, drivers, and Hailoha business practices. Lahaina Medical Center Director Dalia Forsythe is one of the company’s most vocal critics, saying the company, “isn’t offering the cure to anything but common sense.”

“There is a reason that healthcare regulations exist. It takes a long time to grasp the ins and outs, learn all the HIPPA rules, and become certified in basic first aid, including CPR. To say that these drivers can learn everything they need to know in one afternoon of instructional videos is ridiculous! It’s not just patients that are in danger either. Hailoha says their service is restricted to people only, but drivers routinely make deliveries of tissues, and even organs from facilities trying to save a dollar. I’ve personally witnessed a driver pull donated corneas from a cooler filled with beer, and I’ve heard of drivers losing biopsy tissues on the way to a lab. Hailoha says that they are not an ambulance service, but I’ve seen many patients in dire need of medical attention try to save a little money by calling them, instead of an ambulance. People have absolutely died because of that choice. I agree that there is a real issue here with regard to transportation, but we’re not going to fix the problem with just a band-aid and Hailoha-Health.”

Despite Dr. Forsythe’s misgivings the service has grown substantially since the beginning of the year, and is quite popular not only with those in need of transportation, but with drivers themselves. Local resident and part-time Hailoha-Health driver Randy Wilcox says it’s a great way to give back, and learn about your neighbors in need. “To tell you the truth, I’d do this for free,” he says.

“I have friends who are Hailoha drivers and love it. My buddy Mark had been trying to get me to drive for close to a year. He said it was fun, and an easy way to make a little extra money, but it seemed kind of boring to me. Then I heard about Hailoha-Health, and I knew I had give it a try. I was not disappointed. Sure, there’s lots of calls from old people who need to go get their meds, or get that spot on their leg looked at, but you can just decline those jobs. I hang out by the cliffs, or the beach when the surf is big, anywhere I think people could get injured, and it’s paid off. I love the controlled chaos of an emergency call. I can drive as fast as I need to, cut through parks, down closed trails through the preservation zone, and get paid when I’m done. Just last weekend I had to drive through two different soccer games, while taking a shortcut for a woman who’s ankle looked broken. It was exhilarating! Of course the police say that driving people to the hospital for a living is no excuse for “reckless driving”. I’m fighting the tickets though, and I’m sure the judge will see it my way once I explain everything to her. As long as I still have a license, I’m going to keep driving Lahaina’s most injured, at a high rate of speed, to the medical facility of their choice. It’s been awesome so far!”

Hailoha says the new service will debut in Hilo June 7th.