Legislators consider medical vans to help homeless ADVERTISING Legislators consider medical vans to help homeless HONOLULU (AP) — A proposal aimed at cutting emergency room costs for treating homeless people would cost the state $1.4 million each year to operate
Legislators consider medical vans to help homeless
HONOLULU (AP) — A proposal aimed at cutting emergency room costs for treating homeless people would cost the state $1.4 million each year to operate two mobile medical clinics.
Lawmakers voted unanimously Friday to move forward on the bill introduced by state Sen. Josh Green.
The proposal calls for two mobile clinics that would operate primarily on Oahu, with a driver, doctor, nurse and psychiatrist onboard.
Green, an emergency room doctor from the Big Island, said he would volunteer for shifts on the vans and recruit other doctors, nurses and health care students to help treat patients.
Green said the vans will cost less than treating the state’s homeless residents at hospitals.
Oahu’s Queens Medical Center faces $90 million in costs each year to treat homeless people while receiving little reimbursement from the federal government, according to Green.
Green estimates it would cost $500,000 to purchase and outfit each medical vehicle and $1.4 million annually for operating costs.
Body of soldier ID’d after collision
HONOLULU (AP) — A soldier’s body found along the H-1 Freeway after a motorcycle collision was identified by the Army as 26-year-old Spc. Patrick James Rodgers of Texas.
The Army said Saturday that Rodgers was a wheeled vehicle mechanic who was deployed to Kuwait for a year in 2012.
He served in Oklahoma and South Carolina before arriving at Schofield Barracks in 2014.
Rodgers earned four medals and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Authorities found Rodgers Friday about 12 hours after a crash was reported. His body was concealed by a guardrail.
Police suspect speed was a factor in the collision.
