HILO, Hawai'i — Despite the economic downturn, Hilo's fledgling residency program to bring doctors to the Big Island is moving ahead, thanks to an outpouring of donations from the community.

A clinic, Hawaii Island Family Medicine, has been seeing patients on a limited basis since late April. The Mohouli Street facility is staffed by a single teaching doctor, but plans are in the works to recruit two more family doctors, said Lori Rogers, executive director of the Hilo Medical Center Foundation. Three physicians are needed for the program to be accredited.

The clinic also has a half-time nurse practitioner, one pharmacy faculty member and four office staff workers.

Glitches are still being worked out. The clinic hasn't been credentialed by some insurance companies, and that has kept some prospective patients from being treated, Rogers said.

The program is part of the University of Hawai'i's John A. Burns School of Medicine and is designed to bring additional family practice doctors to the Big Island by training them in a three-year residency.

"As a foundation, we're so glad we didn't let this fall away," Rogers said. "It's been successful, but only because the community came together."

Back in April, the program needed a $50,000 lifeline to carry it to June after start-up grants ran out. To date, $122,000 in private donations alone have been raised. One anonymous husband and wife donated $50,000.

A grant from the Hawai'i County Council totaled $72,000. There's another $50,000 grant from the county and a commitment of $50,000 from the East Hawaii Independent Physicians Association. The Rotary Club of South Hilo donated the proceeds of the annual Hilo Huli on Coconut Island, held in May.

The clinic still needs equipment, computers and vaccines, and more funding, Rogers said. The program needs $1.5 million to thrive as intended through 2011.

The program will apply for accreditation when it has at least three full-time teaching doctors, said Lucy Bucci, the clinic's sole doctor.

"The other thing we need is funding to make sure we can keep our doors open and our client base," Bucci said.

The clinic is not for urgent care, and it's not a walk-in clinic, Bucci noted.

The state Legislature has tried repeatedly to get funding for the residency program, only to be thwarted by tightened purse strings. The Legislature appropriated $2.5 million in 2007, but Gov. Linda Lingle did not release the money, citing budget concerns. A petition with 6,000 signatures in support of the program was sent to the governor's office last December.

Last session, the Legislature passed a bill appropriating $140,000 over the next two fiscal years. The original draft asked for $4 million.

But it's anyone's guess when Lingle will release funding authorized by a bill she vetoed. The bill was overridden July 15 by the Legislature. She said the state can't afford the program because of "the severity of the state's fiscal condition at present."

The state also cannot afford future funds for the development of a statewide system of rural primary health care training programs outlined in the bill, Lingle said.