An emergency room physician at Kahuku Medical Center has raised concerns over the quality of some of the staff and care in its emergency room, saying that patient health and safety have been placed at risk in some cases.

Dr. Laura Moire said her complaints were ignored for months, so yesterday she presented her case to the Kahuku hospital administrator and its board chairman, said Miles Takaaze, spokesman for Hawaii Health Systems Corp., which oversees the medical center.

Takaaze, who was not at the meeting held at Leahi Hospital, said Moire was asked to formalize her complaint and forward it to Barbara Kahana, Kahuku Medical Center board chairwoman, and Lance Segawa, Kahuku Medical Center administrator.

The problem seems to stem from past issues, Takaaze said.

"We are not aware of any filing of any complaint at this point," he said, adding that the document will be reviewed and another meeting has been scheduled to discuss it further. "We take compliance seriously. We have a corporate compliance program in place should these concerns warrant immediate attention or an investigation."

Moire said she first complained last fall.

"I kept reporting incidents that were problematic, safety issues, and kept getting ignored," she said, adding that she was hoping that her complaints would bring reform and more training for the staff.

When she lodged her concerns at the hospital, the staff retaliated, making her life miserable, Moire said.

They threw out letters and cards from patients that were in her personal file, and they rummaged through her personal belongings, among other things, she said.

"It really got to a hurtful, stupid level," Moire said.

The staff in question are new to the emergency room, having replaced more experienced members who she said were pressured to leave or released after the successful efforts to save the hospital from closing.

Segawa, the hospital administrator, was not available for comment yesterday, said Takaaze.

Finally, Moire decided to take her concerns to the Hawaii Health Systems Corp.

The hospital, an outgrowth of a plantation clinic, faced closure in November 2006 after 58 years of operation because of rising financial losses. Community outcry for the need of an emergency room there persuaded the Legislature and governor to save the facility. After a 16-month effort and $6 million the hospital was transferred to the Hawaii Health Services Corp. in March.

Moire is a board certified emergency physician and has been working in Kahuku since the 1990s.

She lives in Hilo and travels from the Big Island to work at Kahuku. She was among other emergency physicians who worked without pay for five months when the hospital was going through financial problems. At one point she was using her own money to fly to O'ahu to work at the hospital so the community would have a doctor on call, she said.

Moire said she understands the difficulty in hiring qualified physicians and staff because there is a shortage across the United States, but training is available and she hopes her concerns will bring change.

She said she was encouraged by the tone of yesterday's meeting.

We need to "heal the system, heal the planet, heal Hawai'i one person at a time," she said.