Long-awaited pharmacy expansion at Kona Community Hospital complete

Kona Community Hospital’s long-awaited pharmacy expansion is finished after breaking ground on the project almost two years ago.

Gov. Josh Green, hospital officials and a handful of state legislators Senate President Ron Kouchi, Sen. Dru Kanuha, Rep. Kirstin Kahaloa, and Sen. Tim Richards, were at the South Kona hospital Monday as the pharmacy was blessed.

“Today marks more than just the completion of a construction project; it represents a major advancement in how we care for our community,” said Rick Cleave, Kona Community Hospital’s interim regional director of pharmacy.

The expansion includes a new compounding suite that will allow the hospital to safely prepare medications – including chemotherapy drugs – on-site.

The $2.3 million pharmacy expansion project was funded by the Hawai‘i State Legislature and Green’s administration. The new compounding suite is expected to be fully operational by the end of the summer.

This upgraded pharmacy marks a milestone in health care access for West Hawai‘i residents, hospital officials stated. With this expansion, many patients who previously needed to travel to Hilo or O‘ahu for treatment can instead receive care closer to home.

The new facility supports longer beyond-use dates, which improves efficiency and reduces labor and material costs. It also strengthens the hospital’s emergency preparedness by increasing the volume of compounded medications on site and enhances the hospital’s ability to provide oncology and other specialized treatments.

“It will bring important efficiencies to our operations and, more importantly, better serve our patients by eliminating the need to outsource this critical service,” said Clayton McGhan, West Hawai‘i Region CEO.

McGhan also said the expanded pharmacy is vital to the future expansion of the hospital’s infusion center, which will be completed at the beginning of next year, doubling capacity from six chairs to 12.

Green spoke to the gathering, saying sometimes it’s harder to understand the needs of the neighbor islands when on O‘ahu. As a physician who has worked in rural hospitals on the Big Island, the governor said the expansion means people won’t have to wait as long for treatment.

“It’s a special thing that our colleagues decided to make this a priority,” Green said.

In 2023, the decades-old hospital, built in 1974, was at risk of closure every day due to outdated utilities. And if any faltered, elective and trauma surgeries would have ended, which would have meant the hospital losing its Level 3 Trauma Designation.