Earl Bakken Memorial Bench Unveiling Set for June 19

Earl Bakken. PC: Bobak Ha’Eri & Paul Schmokel, own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2726012

The community is invited to join the blessing and the unveiling of the Earl Bakken Memorial Bench at North Hawai‘i Community Hospital on Wednesday, June 19, 2019, at 10 a.m.

Earl Bakken was a hospital board member, benefactor and design visionary remembered for his dedication and generosity to North Hawai‘i Community Hospital and beyond.

Bakken was also an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist who founded Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology company, providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic disease.

He developed the first external, battery-operated, transistorized, wearable pacemaker in 1957, marking the start of the biomedical industry in the US.

After a long and successful career and philanthropic life in Minneapolis, he and his wife Doris found their home on Hawai‘i Island and became involved with the health and wellness of the North Hawai‘i community.

His leadership, vision, and philanthropy has benefited not only our community but
the entire state, the North Hawai‘i Community Hospital press release said.