25 Maui elderly ready to check out of Maui Memorial Medical Center who are unable to do so. They have nowhere to go. Tony Krieg, president of Hale Makua, a nonprofit nursing home operation, said Maui's long-term nursing facilities are being stretched to their limit.
All beds are essentially full most of the time.
Krieg believes that one answer to the problem is to encourage more individuals to provide care homes, private businesses that provide 24-hour care to a small group of elderly patients no more than five living in a family environment. There are currently only 13 care homes on Maui, but Krieg hopes that number will grow. As part of the effort, Maui Community College has been offering special classes to train care home operators. Three classes of the Adult Residential Care Home Operator program are required for certification, but registered nurses only need to take one, ARCH 14. Tom Albete wants to open a care home, so he will be taking ARCH 14 even though he's had so much experience that he doesn't think it should be necessary.