A ground blessing was held yesterday at North Hawai’i Community Hospital as crews prepare to start construction on the hospital’s new emergency room. Doctors, nurses, and other staff members, along with the contractor, Allied Builders System, joined together in a blessing by Kahu Billy Mitchell, NHCH Board of Trustees member.
“North Hawaii Community Hospital’s emergency room is a critical medical service in the delivery of emergency care in the North Hawai’i region, providing continuity of care and an essential connection to emergency and trauma services at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu,” said NHCH President Cindy Kamikawa.
To address an increasing number of emergency visits at NHCH, the new emergency room will expand from the existing 3,300 square feet of ER space to over 12,000 square feet. It will house 13 multi-use rooms (11 standard and 2 trauma rooms), a centralized nurses’ workstation, new ambulance and patient/family entry points, a new waiting room, and other support spaces. The increased space and efficiencies in emergency care will allowing staff to deliver care in a family and patient-centered environment, and can accommodate future growth. The new ER is expected to open in early 2020.
