Waimea-based North Hawaii Community Hospital has officially entered into an affiliation agreement with The Queen’s Health Systems, corporate parent of The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu.
Waimea-based North Hawaii Community Hospital has officially entered into an affiliation agreement with The Queen’s Health Systems, corporate parent of The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu.
In the agreement, North Hawaii Community Hospital will become a corporate entity under Queen’s, similar to The Queen’s Medical Center and Molokai General Hospital, according to a prepared statement from Queen’s and North Hawaii Community Hospital. The affiliation is effective Jan. 1, 2014, and officials at both entities expect the transition to occur without any disruption of service to the community.
North Hawaii Community Hospital and The Queen’s Health Systems announced on June 25 that they were exploring a formal agreement to improve health care on Hawaii Island. The affiliation builds upon a clinical affiliation with The Queen’s Medical Center on Oahu that started in 2005 to help streamline the transport of cardiac patients needing care beyond what NHCH can provide.
North Hawaii Community Hospital opened in May 1996. The nonprofit 33-bed acute care hospital is based in Waimea and serves an estimated 30,000 part- and full-time residents in locales spanning North Hawaii, from Paauilo to Waikoloa.
The Queen’s Health Systems is a nonprofit established in 1985 to provide expanded health care capabilities to the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin. The system, which employees 5,000 people, consists of The Queen’s Medical Center, The Queen’s Health Care Centers, Queen Emma Land Co., Queen’s Development Corp., Queen’s Insurance Exchange Inc. and Molokai General Hospital. The system has ownership interest in Care Resource Hawaii, Hamamatsu/Queen’s PET Imaging Center and Diagnostic Laboratory Services Inc.
See the Wednesday, Dec. 18, edition of West Hawaii Today for more details.