$150 million donation to connect Hilo Medical Center, Hawai’i Pacific Health and UCSF Health

 A major donation by philanthropists in Hawai’i will increase healthcare access, addressing infrastructure gaps and helping ensure continuous care for communities in Hawai’i.

The $150 million gift by Marc and Lynne Benioff is one of the largest single private donations in state history. Developed through more than a year of collaboration across three different hospitals, it provides $50 million for the Hilo Medical Center on the Big Island, to build out critical areas of care, including a state-of-the-art family birthing center, intensive care unit, and neurosurgical program as well as behavioral health services.

It also provides $100 million for Hawai’i Pacific Health, one of the state’s largest nonprofit healthcare organizations, to help create a “healthcare campus of the future” at the Honolulu-based Straub Medical Center. And it deepens connections between both Hawai’i hospitals and UCSF Health in San Francisco to provide more specialized care to patients who need it.

The gift brings the Benioffs’ total philanthropy in Hawai’i to more than $250 million. In all, the Benioffs’ personal philanthropic giving totals more than $1 billion, including $600 million in healthcare donations in Hawai’i, San Francisco and across the country.

“Our philosophy has always been to give locally and to give through experts who deeply understand local needs, and we are so pleased to have found that with the wonderful, lifesaving teams at Hilo Medical Center, Hawai’i Pacific Health and UCSF Health,” said Marc and Lynne Benioff.

The expansion of Hilo Medical Center is a public-private partnership, with the $50 million from the Benioffs matching a previous, separate $50 million appropriation from the State of Hawai’i. In addition to building out areas of care, the donation will support an expansion of Hilo Medical Center’s physician recruitment program. The Benioffs’ $100 million gift to Hawai’i Pacific Health will support a renovation project that will triple the size of Straub Medical Center, which includes the state’s only burn unit, lifesaving services, community outreach and education that furthers local clinical research.

In recognition of Lynne and Marc Benioff, the Hilo Medical Center will be renamed the Hilo Benioff Medical Center and the Honolulu-based Straub Medical Center will become the Straub Benioff Medical Center.

San Francisco-based UCSF Health will expand its efforts to support Hawai’i patients in need of specialist care. Hilo Medical Center, Straub Medical Center and UCSF Health have committed to working together, to extend the reach of UCSF clinical expertise and bring specialized care in areas such as oncology and neurology to more residents across the state.