Kona Community Hospital was working on new facility, but Queen’s Health Systems announced its own plans for West Hawaiʻi

Kona Community Hospital commissioned a study that was funded by the Hawai‘i State Legislature and released in May that assessed the 50-year-old medical facility and identified the growing health care needs of West Hawai‘i.

The report concluded what leadership at the hospital already knew: West Hawaiʻi needed a new hospital. The report provided two possible locations. One site was a parcel owned by Queen’s Health Systems at the West Hawai‘i Business Park in Kailua-Kona. The other site was the old Kmart property, located off Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway and owned by the Lili‘uokalani Trust.

Kona Community Hospital was in conversations with the owners of both properties about topics that included water access and possible purchase or lease agreements, according to its CEO Clayton McGhan.

But at some point that is not clearly known, Queen’s Health Systems — which has four hospitals and 70 health care centers and labs throughout Hawaiʻi — decided to build its own hospital in Kona.

On Monday, the Honolulu-based Queen’s Health Systems formally announced its plans to construct a $450 to $500 million hospital with 80 beds and a helipad on its property at the West Hawai‘i Business Park.

Queenʻs Health Systems now has four medical facilities on the Big Island: health care centers in Kona on Kuakini Highway and in Hilo on Ponahawai Street, and the Queen’s North Hawai‘i Community Hospital and a primary care clinic in Waimea.

A spokesperson for Queen’s Health Systems said Monday the company could not provide comment to questions posed by Big Island Now until Tuesday.

But in its press release, Queen’s Health Systems stated the proposed new hospital in Kona would deliver comprehensive inpatient and emergency care, with a state-of-the-art emergency department, an ambulatory care center and enhanced inter-island patient transfers with the helipad.

To support the health care workforce, an adjacent housing development is being designed to attract and retain medical professionals by offering affordable housing all within a connected community.

“Our goal is to create a centralized outpatient and specialty care hub to serve the West and North region of Hawaiʻi Island,” said Jason Chang, President and CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems, in the release. “This plan presents a transformative vision for healthcare delivery on the Island of Hawaiʻi.”

He said the new hospital had a principle of “care close to home” to address the challenges of delivering healthcare in rural and isolated settings while leveraging innovation, sustainability and community engagement.

The Kona Community Hospital’s 43-page commissioned report, which was conducted by ECG Management Consultants, found that West Hawai‘i’s permanent population is expected to grow nearly 11% over the next 10 years to more than 65,000 people. It also said the physical location of the hospital at the southern end of Kona may no longer be ideal because most of the West Side population has shifted north over the past 20 years.

“As you will learn throughout this document, it is ECG’s recommendation that KCH can
better serve the community by relocating the short-term acute care hospital closer to
the population center and reusing the current hospital site for long-term care, skilled
nursing, and behavioral health services,” the report said.

McGhan was working on just that, and said he only just recently learned about Queen’s master plan to build on its land in Kona.

On Monday, McGhan said knowing there are health care disparities on the outer islands, he can’t help but feel happy that the report commissioned by Kona Community Hospital is being recognized and will ultimately lead to better health care in the community.

McGhan also said Kona Community Hospital’s mission to provide better access to care hasn’t changed although “we may need to go in a different direction.”

“We still have needs south and we’ll evolve the plan as time goes,” he said. “We have to adapt as we see fit.”

All medical facilities on the Big Island face the significant challenges of rural health care almost everywhere: attracting and retaining skilled employees. This is especially true with the shortage of affordable housing in Hawaiʻi.

That is why Queen’s also is exploring an affordable housing program, offering employees the chance to purchase homes at below-market rates.

“Financially secure and invested in their community, employees experience reduced stress, higher job satisfaction, and a stronger commitment to Queen’s and the communities we serve,” Chang said.

Queen’s also plans to develop a state-of-the-art facility at Queen’s North Hawaiʻi Community Hospital focused on outpatient and specialty care.

The 40,000-square-foot facility would be a destination Cancer Center, offering advanced services such as radiation oncology, infusion therapy, oncology surgery, and precision medicine and genomics.

This facility would reduce off-island travel for a full array of health care needs, including cardiac care, surgeries, diabetes and chronic disease management, the release said.

Queen’s also envisions a plan to provide new healthcare services in Kona that will include Skilled Nursing, Post-Acute Care and Urgent Care facilities.

The Queen’s vision may also include destination services such as a Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Center, offering advanced recovery therapies and attracting patients from the Pacific Rim and beyond. These services are designed to improve local access while establishing Kona as a global leader in specialized rehabilitation.

The unified implementation plan is phased over seven years. The Queen’s Health System has not disclosed when the project would break ground. Queen’s Health System also did not disclose its funding, but said possible strategies will include private investments and philanthropic contributions.

Work to expand health care services on Hawai‘i Island already are underway on the east side.

Hilo Benioff Medical Center held a groundbreaking ceremony in April to celebrate the start of construction of its hospital expansion project, which will include a new 19-bed intensive care unit and 36 additional hospital beds.

Additionally, a proposed $60 million health center in the heart of Keaʻau is moving forward with the recent publishing of its draft Environmental Assessment. The 36,000-square-foot Keaʻau Benioff Health Center would provide out-patient primary, specialty and behavioral health care for people living in Puna, Kaʻu and across East Hawaiʻi. The anticipated completion date is 2028.

Funding for these projects comes from philanthropists Marc and Lynne Benioff.