Defective construction on a new state facility could cost tax payers millions to fix
HONOLULU (KHON2) — The new Hale Ho'ola State Hospital building is meant to fix ongoing problems, but instead it is making things worse, according to the Department of Health.Officials said the building is defective and are discussing pouring millions more into it.It was supposed to be the answer to ongoing problems of overcrowding and aging facilities at the Hawaii State Hospital, but instead the $150 million Hale Ho'ola Building made the situation even worse according to Sen. Joy San Buenaventura, Health and Human Services Committee chair.
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'The construction defects exacerbate the problem,' she said.
Touted as state-of-the-art upon completion in 2021, issues popped up almost immediately once patients moved in the following year with concerns about door hinges and shower drainage.
Since then complications have compounded.
'I mean HVAC system, malfunctioning doors, inoperable showers, leaks, molds,' San Buenaventura said.
Now lawmakers are pushing companion bills, SB 1448 and HB 1129, through the legislature to allocate over $8 million more to fix it.
'This is just one bill right now that hopefully fixes the construction problem, the construction defects, to make at least the area more safe for the staffers and the patients,' she said.
As the only forensic facility in the state, San Buenaventura said they have no choice but to fix it because the defects make it impossible to use the entire facility, adding to patient overcrowding, creating staffing stressors and safety concerns.
According to testimony submitted on SB 1448, the State Health Department said: 'HSH has received grievances from staff through the unions regarding the identified mold and the significant risk that it poses, violating their contract and the public employee's collective bargaining agreement for a safe and healthy work environment.'
'For the construction defects to be so huge, so soon after it was completed, it's just not, I don't understand what the contractor was thinking,' San Buenaventura said.
She said that the state attorney general is moving forward with a lawsuit to recoup some of what they paid the contractor for the defective facility.
The House Health Committee is holding a briefing to discuss the hospital's construction defects Wednesday at 10 A.M. at the State Capitol in conference room 329. Click here for more information.
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