Mayor Kawakami issues statement on the Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center

News Release from Office of the Mayor, July 7, 2021

LĪHU‘E – Mayor Derek S. K. Kawakami has issued the following statement on the Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center.

“Many have asked about the future of our Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center here on Kaua‘i. We are pleased to update the public on the county’s efforts toward our shared pursuit of healing.

”As with the rest of the world, we had to pivot and adjust to address the immediate health and safety concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of that adjustment was temporarily utilizing our recently completed Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center as an isolation facility for adults and children that contracted COVID-19. The State Department of Health utilized clinical and non-clinical personnel to monitor these individuals, ensure that their physical health improved and that they had a safe place to stay during the duration of their infectious period. The ATHC's use as an isolation facility has helped to control disease spread and protect our entire community over past year and a half. As vaccination rates continue to increase statewide, the Department of Health is working on plans to demobilize the isolation facility.

“Identifying a permanent operator for the treatment center has had its challenges, but in partnership with the state, namely Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation (HHSC) and its non-profit partner Kaua‘i Adolescent Treatment Center for Healing (KATCH), we are pleased to announce how the county is contributing to a path forward in bringing our healthcare specialists closer to our operational frontlines in the pursuit of healing.

“At the end of last month, the County of Kaua‘i formally offered direct title transfer of the Adolescent Treatment and Healing Center to HHSC. We are presently in the process of formalizing and finalizing the necessary legal agreements.

“We all have the passion to provide drug treatment programs to help those struggling in our community, and we are confident that HHSC and KATCH’s expertise are the right addition to the islandwide partnership bringing the late Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s vision of this healing center to life. We look forward to this continued positive collaboration in putting our kids first.”

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