TB Patient Under 24-Hour Security
Richard Palm, 52, has been quarantined at Leahi Hospital near Diamond Head for the past month after he was diagnosed on the Big Island with active tuberculosis.
Leahi is the only hospital in the state where active TB is treated.
The nine-room unit is on the second floor of Leahi.
It is not a high-security facility, which is how Palm left the hospital twice against doctors orders.
Sources tell KITV both times he flew back to his home on the Big Island where Department of Health officials tracked him down.
Now under a court order, Palm is forced to stay at Leahi with state sheriffs providing 24 hour security at the ward.
Palm contacted KITV, complaining he was "being treated like a criminal" inside the TB ward.
But state health officials said because he is not complying with medical orders, they have no choice but to keep him isolated at Leahi.
"Whenever an individual chooses not to be in compliance with measures to protect the health and safety of the general population, it really is incumbent upon the department to take whatever measures are necessary to ensure the safety of the public," said Dr. Chiyome Fukino, state Health Department director.
Hawaii has one of the highest infection rates for tuberculosis in the nation due to the high number of immigrants from Southeast Asia where TB is more prevalent.
The highly contagious disease can be fatal but is highly treatable.
Department of Public Safety said sheriffs are stationed inside the ward working special duty with the cost of security being covered by the Health Department.
"It's really unfortunate when we have to go this far to protect the public," said Fukino.
"But this is a very serious infection, and we think we need to be aggressive about it.
"The health department has no idea how much the total cost of care will be in this case because treatment could take at least three months.
"If this individual were to infect a number of other people, the costs would be escalated.
Whether the cost was borne by the state or by individuals, it certainly would be a considerable amount of money," said Fukino.
State health officials believe no one Palm has been in contact with has been infected with TB.