The Queen’s Health Systems is teaming with the state’s Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to develop an outpatient care center in Kona adjacent to a new hospital Queen’s has planned for the area.

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Gov. Josh Green said the new facility will have a transformative effect on health care delivery on Hawaii Island at large and, in particular, the rapidly growing yet currently underserved west region of the island

As part of the deal, Queen’s will donate to HHSC’s West Hawaii Region approximately 3 to 5 acres of land to be used as the site of the 50,000-square-foot outpatient facility

Queen’s CEO and president Jason Chang said the clinical services provided at the outpatient facility will complement the new hospital, which will include intensive care units, an advanced emergency department, diagnostic services, a catheter lab, a helipad for transfers to the trauma center and other features

HHSC West Hawaii Region CEO Clayton McGhan said the partnership is already producing benefits for Hawaii Island residents

 

At a Wednesday news briefing to announce the new project, Gov. Josh Green said the new facility will have a transformative effect on health care delivery on Hawaii Island at large and, in particular, the rapidly growing yet currently underserved west region of the island.

“It means that there’s going to be shorter wait times for our patients when they need care,” Green said. “It means they won’t have to drive as far. It’s a lot closer to the airport, where sometimes there will be transfers and we have to stabilize patients or deliver care right there.

“This is a step toward our future,” he said.

As part of the deal, Queen’s will donate to HHSC’s West Hawaii Region approximately 3 to 5 acres of land to be used as the site of the 50,000-square-foot outpatient facility.

Green said the state will contribute $50 million for the planning, design and site work for the facility, with further funding requests to follow for the completion of the project.

Queen’s CEO and president Jason Chang said that by bringing together the strengths of HHSC and Kona Community Hospital with those of the Queens Medical Center and the Queen’s Health Systems, the new public-private partnership will be able to establish a sustainable regional health system for Hawaii Island.

“This outpatient center is really the first step with 50,000 square feet,” Chang said. “It is intended to be a one-stop hub, and this partnership allows us to take our physicians, our specialists that we have within the Queens University Medical Group and the physicians over in the Alii Medical Group, put them in the same building and allow them to work synergistically. Think of the magic that can happen when you put two outstanding groups together, combining their minds, taking care of patients in a unique way — (it) doesn’t exist.”

Chang said the clinical services provided at the outpatient facility will complement the new hospital, which will include intensive care units, an advanced emergency department, diagnostic services, a catheter lab, a helipad for transfers to the trauma center and other features.

HHSC West Hawaii Region CEO Clayton McGhan said the partnership is already producing benefits for Hawaii Island residents.

“For a long time, our region has struggled with many different challenges, like physician shortages and limited access to care,” McGhan said. “By teaming up, we finally have a coordinated, sustainable way to tackle these issues together — and the good news is it’s already working. Patients are feeling the impact right now. Queen surgeons have started rotating at Kona Community Hospital, giving people access to services they used to travel across the island for or even off-island. This is exactly the kind of care our community deserves close to home. The new outpatient medical center is another major piece of our long-term plan.”

Michael Tsai covers local and state politics for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at michael.tsai@charter.com.