News & Updates
January 2021
HMC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic Meeting the Needs of Our Kupuna
January 29 marked the completion of week 2 of vaccinating our kupuna 75 years and older with Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine! Since December 23, Hilo Medical Center has administered over 4,600 to our employees and providers, community healthcare providers, and kupuna 75 years and older. We remain on track to administer upwards of 1,000 doses per week - highly dependent on supply though we are hopeful that more doses will come in as production ramps up. Please know because of exceedingly high demand for our kupuna 75 years and over seeking the vaccine, we have had to delay the start of vaccinating the next group of kupuna 65 years and older. So far over 9,000 appointments for kupuna 65+ and other essential workers have pre-registered on the HMC website and are waiting to register and schedule their appointment on the VAMS website once demand for the vaccine from the 75 and older group starts to decrease.

We understand the eagerness to get the vaccine, so we are working in concert with the Department of Health, Hawaii County, other hospitals, pharmacies and community health centers on the island to administer vaccines in the coming weeks. Please continue to reach out to kupuna to assist them in signing up online. Our Long Term Care Facilities, Extended Care Facility, Hale Ho`ola Hamakua, and Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home are scheduled to hold their next vaccination clinics in the first week of February.

In January, we have had very little hospitalizations for COVID-19 at our hospital. Staffing and PPE supply has been adequate. We would like to encourage our community to keep up the good work in keeping COVID-19 infection rates at one of the lowest in the country.

WATCH: Our latest commercial on COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic for Kupuna 75 Years and Older https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uPAiyIE-Qc airing on Spectrum Cable Channels


   
READ: Hawaii Tribune-Herald’s January 22 story, “HMC begins kupuna COVID vaccinations”
Planning for the Future – Hilo Medical Center’s Vision Includes ICU Expansion and OB Unit Renovation
Hilo Medical Center’s champion, Representative Mark Nakashima, introduced House Bill 1260 that included his priority list of Capital Improvement Projects that included funding for Hilo Medical Center’s ICU Expansion and OB Unit Renovation. The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported January 31 that Rep. Nakashima’s bill calls for more than $60 million of the bond funds — $33 million to be appropriated in the 2021-22 fiscal year and $30 million in fiscal year 2022-23 — to be allocated for the hospital expansion. “The nice thing about that project is that Dan Brinkman has gotten it to a point where it (is) almost shovel ready,” Nakashima said. “So if the money is available, they could break ground within a year.”

Hilo Medical Center’s CEO Dan Brinkman was quoted as saying: “This is a major investment, or really an expansion of the hospital. The hospital has been pretty much the same for the last 35 years. It was built in 1985, and there hasn’t really been any major expansions or change to its capacity. We’re planning on the needs of the hospital really for the next 20 to 30 years, and an investment of $60 million will pay dividends over the course of the next 20 to 30 years.”

Read all about the project in the Hawaii Tribune-Herald’s January 31 story: “Planning for the future; Proposed capital improvements measure includes bond funding for HMC expansion project.”
SAVE THE DATE
Hawai’i Health Care System East Hawai’i Region Annual Public Meeting and
Forum on Community Needs
Saturday, February 20, 2021
1:15 PM—2:15 PM
Zoom Video-Conference with Ka’u Hospital and the Community

An overview of the operations and financial conditions of all facilities as well as a view towards the future will be presented. Ample time will be available for community members to share their perspectives and concerns regarding access to health care services. “I would like to encourage everyone who has an interest in our hospitals and regional health system to bring your questions and concerns to this meeting,” said Dr. Jerry Gray, Chair of the East Hawai’i Regional Board of HHSC. 

For more information or to sign-up to receive the Zoom meeting access, please contact: Terry Larson, Regional Board Executive Assistant, at tlarson@hhsc.org (808) 932-4372 or Jennifer Grace in the Business Office at Ka’u Hospital jgrace1@hhsc.org (808) 315-7558
Hilo Medical Center
As the Big Island’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care, Hilo Medical Center delivers a full range of services and programs on our 20-acre campus. Hilo Medical Center is licensed for 157 beds for acute care and 35 beds for long-term care. We have 1,100 employees and a medical staff comprised 250 community physicians, physician assistants and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses, representing 33 specialties. As a medical center, we have a network of 9 outpatient clinics offering primary and specialty care. The hospital is a Level III Trauma Center which includes the second busiest emergency room in the state that provides 24-hour care to more than 51,000 patients annually.

Hilo Medical Center has been nationally recognized for exceptional care as a “Top Performing” hospital. CMS ranked HMC 4 stars for Overall Quality, putting HMC among the top 20% of hospitals in the nation, the top hospitals in the state and the only 4-star ranked hospital on Hawaii Island. Our hospital is designated as a Level III Trauma Center and a Primary Stroke Center. We are also the only hospital in the state to have earned two Beacon designations in our Intensive Care Unit and Progressive Care Unit.
HMC’s HealthConnect attained the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) Meaningful Use Stage 2 in 2014. In addition, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) recognized HMC for achieving Stage 7 on the EMR Adoption ModelSM. Hilo Medical Center also earned the HIMSS Nicholas E. Davis Award for the utilization and demonstration of its electronic medical records system.

We are part of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, a public entity established in 1996 by the State of Hawaii to fulfill the promise to provide quality, hometown healthcare.
Hilo Medical Center | 1190 Waianuenue Ave.| Hilo HI 96720