Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has moved to extend the emergency proclamation in response to the Hawaiʻi Life Flight incident on Dec. 27, according to a press release.
“By coordinating efforts between Hawaiʻi Life Flight, the State Department of Health, the Army National Guard, the Coast Guard, the mayors and medical facilities throughout the state, we helped to ensure that emergency transport was available for critically ill patients, especially those throughout our neighbor island communities," Green said.
The move to extend the emergency proclamation paves the way for the state to continue being in the position to provide the level of staffing resources that are required to ensure emergency transportation remains readily available without a hitch going forward.
The emergency proclamation was put in place earlier this month in response to the Hawaiʻi Life Flight air medical aircraft that went missing off the coast of Maui while enroute to pick up a patient located on Hawaiʻi island, spurring coordinated efforts to add personnel, airframes and other critical resources to care for as many as 52 patients.
The disaster emergency relief period for this emergency proclamation will continue through the early days of next year, unless terminated or superseded by a separate proclamation, whichever occurs first.
“I am so proud of the Hawaiʻi National Guard’s professionalism and responsiveness while providing critical patient air transport support over an eight-day period," Major General Kenneth Hara said.