Kona Community Hospital expands oncology services with full-time radiation oncologist

The West Hawai‘i Region of Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation has announced the permanent appointment of Dr. Carl R. Jenson, a board-certified radiation oncologist with more than four decades of clinical and research experience, to Kona Community Hospital’s Cancer Center.

Jenson, who has been serving patients at Kona Community Hospital on a temporary basis since relocating to Hawai‘i Island earlier this year, will now join the hospital’s oncology team as a full-time, permanent provider.

“I’m very happy to be part of the cancer center at this wonderful hospital,” Jenson said. “The staff here is fantastic, and I am delighted to become a permanent part of the team.”

With Jenson’s appointment, Kona Community Hospital now becomes the only facility on the neighbor islands to have a full team of permanent oncology providers.

“Having three permanent oncology providers at Kona is a true blessing from a neighbor island standpoint,” said Amy Feeley-Austin, chief operating officer of Kona Community Hospital. “This demonstrates the major strides we’re making in recruiting and retaining skilled providers.”

Feeley-Austin added that Jenson’s presence ensures long-term continuity of care for cancer patients who depend on consistent relationships with their medical teams throughout treatment and recovery.

“This is a provider who is already very well-liked by patients and staff — a compassionate, genuine physician who will stay in our community for years,” Feeley-Austin said. “For patients going through challenging, life-changing experiences, knowing their doctor will be there for the long haul means everything.”

Before moving to Hawai‘i, Jenson spent four years in Oregon, where he served as medical director at Bay Area Hospital Radiation Therapy Center in Coos Bay and as a radiation oncologist and clinical liaison at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

His career has also included leadership and clinical roles in Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan and Washington.

A graduate of Oregon Health & Science University, Jenson completed his residency in radiation oncology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.