Hawaii Facility or system Complaint Route

Authority and scope

Check the facility type and concern

OHCA’s Medicare Section covers hospitals, surgical centers, nursing facilities and home health, with federal survey responsibilities including hospice. Its State Licensing Section covers assisted living, adult residential care, special treatment facilities and therapeutic living programs. ADAD separately accredits substance-use treatment programs. OHCA designates Community Ties of America (CTA) for community care foster family homes, case management agencies and adult day care.

Supporting guidance: OHCA ↗State Licensing Section ↗Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division ↗

Match the route to the facility type

OHCA hospital, nursing and community-facility intake

Current official portal; current form fields and anonymity terms remain unverified.

Open this official route ↗

ADAD substance-use treatment program concerns

Separate accreditation and program concern route.

Open this official route ↗

CTA-administered foster homes and agencies

OHCA-designated contact for foster family homes, case management and adult day care; detailed intake requirements remain unverified.

Open this official route ↗

Submission

Checked steps and filing details to confirm

OHCA says official intake must use the Kahua Ike public portal beginning August 1, 2026. For help, its Medicare Section lists 808-692-7420; State Licensing lists 808-692-7400.
Prepare the facility name/address and a factual incident account with dates, times and locations. These appear on the older Medicare form; current portal-required fields and any authorization must be confirmed in the portal or with OHCA.
For ADAD program concerns, complete and sign its Reporting Concerns form. Name the organization and people involved, incident/discovery dates, witnesses and contact preferences. Print and send it to ADAD Quality Assurance and Improvement Office, 601 Kamokila Boulevard, Room 360, Kapolei, HI 96707.
For the CTA-administered categories, OHCA directs complaints to CTA at 808-234-5380; ask how to submit the report and supporting material.

Supporting guidance: OHCA ↗Medicare Section ↗State Licensing Section ↗Medicare complaint form, revised 2017 ↗ADAD Reporting Concerns form ↗

Limits

What this route may not provide

Identify the facility category first. A treatment-program concern may involve ADAD and an OHCA facility license. OHCA does not handle Medicare insurance inquiries. Professional conduct has separate licensing routes; these sources do not establish a financial-compensation remedy.

Supporting guidance: OHCA ↗

Anonymity

Do not guess about confidentiality

The older OHCA form offers an anonymity choice, but current portal anonymity and disclosure terms were not established. ADAD’s signed form offers disclosure permission, restrictions naming particular recipients, or anonymity. It warns restrictions can impede investigation and that necessary identifying information may be disclosed.

Supporting guidance: Medicare complaint form, revised 2017 ↗ADAD Reporting Concerns form ↗

Complaint timing

Filing deadline not established

A filing deadline was not established by this check; ask promptly.

Process

What may happen after filing

OHCA performs licensing and certification inspections. ADAD requests an account for investigation. The reviewed materials do not establish a complaint completion target, acknowledgement schedule or guaranteed outcome; ask the receiving unit how to follow up.

Supporting guidance: OHCA ↗ADAD Reporting Concerns form ↗

Evidence

Prepare a reviewable submission

State the concern you want reviewed, give a short chronology and factual consequences, and explain your request. Keep supporting records and follow the receiving authority’s instructions before attaching or sending them.

Other facility processes to consider

These processes have different purposes. The national guidance below does not establish this state’s filing requirements or change the verification level shown above.

Hospital grievance

For hospitals covered by CMS hospital Conditions of Participation, ask for the grievance contact and written procedure. The hospital must specify response timeframes and give a written decision describing its contact, investigation, results and completion date. These are hospital rules, not a single rule for every facility. You may contact the responsible State Survey Agency without first completing the hospital process.

Supporting guidance: CMS: hospital grievance guidance ↗

State oversight

Match external oversight to the facility type and license. State Survey Agencies help CMS assess federal compliance; state licensing may cover different settings. Confirm jurisdiction rather than assuming one contact handles every clinic or residential program.

Supporting guidance: CMS: State Survey Agency contacts ↗

Medicare quality review and appeals

People with Medicare can ask their Medicare quality-review organization (BFCC-QIO) about eligible quality-of-care concerns. A complaint is different from a fast appeal when discharge or covered services may be ending too soon. Follow the Important Message from Medicare or Notice of Medicare Non-Coverage immediately; the notice identifies the contact and deadline. A routine grievance does not substitute for that appeal.

Supporting guidance: Medicare: fast appeals and BFCC-QIO help ↗

Long-term-care advocacy

Long-Term Care Ombudsmen advocate for residents of nursing homes, assisted living and similar residential settings. They help resolve concerns according to the resident’s wishes; they are not licensing enforcement. Identity disclosure generally requires informed consent, with court-order and specified incapacity exceptions. Ask how resident, representative and complainant consent applies.

Supporting guidance: ACL: Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program ↗45 CFR 1324: Long-Term Care Ombudsman rules ↗

National sources and scope

CMS: hospital grievance guidance ↗

Hospital participation scope and tags A-0118, A-0121–A-0123: written/verbal grievances, response policy, written decision and direct state-agency access. Relevant passages only; not a rule for every facility.