HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-09 Letter to Rosalyn H. Baker and Stanley Chang SCR 71, SR 38 Requesting the HI Health Sys Corp to Convene a Task Force to Conduct a Feasibility Study for Constr of a Hosp in N. Kona
County of Hawai‘i
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County of Hawai‘i is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer.
Roy Takemoto
Managing Director
Harry Kim
Mayor
Barbara J. Kossow
Deputy Managing Director
March 13, 2020
Senator Rosalyn H. Baker, Chair
Senator Stanley Chang, Vice Chair
Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Health
Dear Chair Baker, Vice Chair Chang, and Committee Members:
RE: SCR 71/SR 38 Requesting the Hawaiʻi Health Systems Corporation to Convene
a Task Force to Conduct a Feasibility Study for Construction of a Hospital in North Kona
The need for a new hospital in Kona has been recognized for years. In 2019, this
Legislature considered the specific idea of building a teaching hospital, which could serve as a
focus for recruiting, training and retaining the healthcare workers – physicians, nurses and
others – that are so sorely needed on Hawaiʻi Island. But whether a teaching hospital or not, a
new facility would be the core to the healthcare infrastructure enhancements needed to care for
our growing population, predicted by DBEDT to reach 300,000 by 2040.
A new hospital would enhance and diversify our economy, presently so dependent on
tourism. It might even have a positive impact on tourism itself, assuring older or medically
fragile tourists that West Hawaiʻi is a safe place to be and perhaps it even would bring “medical
tourists” seeking treatment.
Most of all, it would mean that clinical services and medical services presently absent
on-island would be available to our residents, allowing local families to receive care and support
at home, often a big part of any recovery.
This Legislature approved a feasibility study once, but the funds lapsed. I sincerely hope
that you will approve SCR 71 and SR 38, so that such a study can move forward now.
Respectfully Submitted,
Harry Kim
MAYOR