Moloka'i hospital to get upgrade
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Neighbor Island Editor
Moloka'i General Hospital will undergo its first major expansion and renovation since the facility opened in 1963.
Construction of the first phase of the project, a $7.5 million addition, is expected to start in April. The 11,000-square-foot addition will house X-ray, emergency care and labor-delivery and other services.
Included in the construction cost is a new $450,000 CT scan device. The current scanner was an older model when it was acquired seven years ago and is kept in a trailer in the parking lot, said Randy Lite, director of facilities services. The scanner uses computers to generate three-dimensional images to detect tumors, brain injuries and other conditions.
Moloka'i General in Kaunakakai is the only hospital on the rural island of 7,200 residents. It has 30 beds used for acute care, long-term care and skilled-nursing care. It is part of The Queen's Health Systems, and is subsidized by Queen's and the state.
Dr. Emmett Aluli, medical executive director at Moloka'i General Hospital, said the expansion is long overdue and will make visits more convenient by consolidating services.
It also will lessen the need for residents to seek off-island medical care, he said. "We really believe it's important that Moloka'i people can be born here, have their children here and die at home on Moloka'i," Aluli said.
Once the year-long first phase is complete, work will begin on the second phase, which also is expected to take a year to finish, Lite said. It is still in the planning stage and costs have not been determined, he said.
The second phase will involve renovating the 22,000-square-foot hospital to accommodate administration offices, medical records, a pharmacy, supplies and the women's health clinic. There also will be a room for outpatient surgeries, something Moloka'i General does not have now, Lite said.
The federal government and Queen's Health Systems are each contributing $3 million for the first phase, the state $1 million and Maui County $500,000.
Charles Pankow has been picked as construction manager for the project. Lite said the builders likely will have to bring in workers for the construction, since there may not be enough skilled laborers on the island.
The construction is not expected to affect patient services.
Moloka'i General Hospital opened in 1963 with money from the federal government, private foundations and payroll deductions from Dole Co. pineapple plantation workers. Its predecessor was Shingles Memorial Hospital, founded in the late 1930s by the Episcopal Church. That hospital closed when the building was condemned in the late 1950s, Lite said, and the church helped raise money for the new facility.
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
