Big Island Now poll results: More of everything is needed when talking about healthcare

The healthcare needs of Hawai‘i Island are numerous and varied.

As previously reported, a Puna-based nonprofit hopes to break ground on a medical campus within the next year. During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers passed bills to fund projects at Hilo Medical Center and Kona Community Hospital that provided funding for infrastructure upgrades. The legislature has also discussed how to expand internet services to rural parts of the island to ensure telehealth is available for everyone.

But we wanted to know what Big Island residents thought were the top healthcare needs of the island. Out of 708 votes, voters noted all the options presented in the poll as important with 340 votes. The demand for on-island specialists came in second with 160 votes.

Dana Carpenter Adams commented on Instagram saying: “We don’t even have a urologist on the island. My father-in-law almost died because the Kona hospital missed a kidney stone….”

Bett Bidleman said: “One word says it all: more. More home health care aides, more physicians, nurses, specialists, mental health and drug treatment, and more affordable housing.”

Another social media comment indicated Hawai‘i Island needed a heart Cath lab on the west side for treating heart issues “instead of being told you have to wait to fly to O‘ahu because Hilo is full.”

See the full poll results below:

• We need more on-island specialists rather than having them travel from O‘ahu 160 (22%)
• We need a hospital in West Hawai‘i 89 (12%)
• There is a lack of mental health care professionals 40 (5%)
• Something else 30 (4%)
• We need affordable housing for traveling doctors and nurses 19 (2%)
• We need mental health services for teenagers 15 (2%)
• We need more blood drives to build up local supply 9 (1%)
• All of the above 340 (48%)
• Total Votes: 708