Bay Clinic, West Hawai‘i Community Health Center Merger Complete

A new community health center, the combination of two other health care providers, is serving 40,000 patients on the Big Island.

The merger between Bay Clinic Inc. and West Hawai‘i Community Health Center is complete. As of July 1, the Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center began providing medical, dental, pharmacy, behavioral health services and enabling services at locations in Hilo, Keaʻau, Pāhoa, Kaʻū, Kealakekua, Kealakehe, Waikōloa and Kailua-Kona.

“Merging the Bay Clinic and West Hawai‘i Community Health Center into a single entity is having immediate effects on patient health care islandwide,” Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center CEO Richard Taaffe said in a press release. “A more comprehensive scope of care, increased access to providers, greater economies of scale and the opportunity to add new clinic locations are the immediate benefits the Hawai‘i Island community will see.”

During the past nine months, management teams from Bay Clinic and West Hawai‘i Community Health Center conducted an assessment on how to merge their operations.

“Most important to our success was nearly a year of relationship building, aligning our missions and setting the foundation for systemwide and islandwide collaboration,” Taaffe said in the press release.

The new Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center Board of Directors is led by Chairperson Mike Matsukawa and Vice Chairperson Haidee Abe.

For locations, services and hours of operation, click here or call 808-333-3600 for East Hawai‘i information and 808-326-5629 for West Hawai‘i information.

Hawai‘i Island Community Health Center’s mission is to provide quality, comprehensive and integrated health care services accessible to all, regardless of ability to pay.