The Wahiawa Center for Community Health is one step closer to its establishment and earning a designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center thanks to support it has received from Pali Momi Medical Center and Straub Clinic & Hospital, part of the Hawaii Pacific Health network of hospitals and clinics. The center was presented with $20,000 each from Pali Momi and Straub to support its efforts to provide affordable, high quality and accessible health care for Wahiawa and the surrounding rural communities.
“Wahiawa and its surrounding areas comprise the only federally designated Medically Underserved Population in Hawaii that is not served by a community health center, and access to primary health care in Wahiawa continues to be lacking,” said Mary Talon, president of The Wahiawa Center for Community Health Board of Directors. “This center was one of the last projects initiated by the late Senator Daniel K. Inouye and is now considered to be a Senator Inouye Legacy Project by the Hawaii Congressional Delegation. We are thankful for the continued support we are receiving, especially this generous contribution from Pali Momi and Straub.”
The center, which is expected to open by summer 2016, will provide comprehensive primary care and preventive care for the residents of Wahiawa and the surrounding areas. This will include clinical, dental and behavioral health services, as well as other community driven health and wellness programs.
“We are committed to ensuring access to quality health care for the people of Hawaii, and that includes taking care of our patients within our hospitals and clinics as well as supporting our health care partners in the community,” said Art Gladstone, CEO of Pali Momi Medical Center and Straub Clinic & Hospital. “Our support of The Wahiawa Center for Community Health is an investment in the health and wellness of the residents of Wahiawa and the surrounding areas, and we look forward to collaborating with the center to address the community’s health care needs.”
The center will complement the services currently provided by Wahiawa General Hospital, the only acute-care hospital serving Central Oahu and the North Shore, and help alleviate the overutilization of the hospital’s emergency department for non-emergency and preventable care. It will also help to address the shortage of primary care services available in these communities due to retiring physicians and the limited number of physicians accepting new patients, as well as provide for the health care needs of all regardless of their ability to pay.
About The Wahiawa Center for Community Health
The Wahiawa Center for Community Health (WCCH) is setting the foundation for bringing affordable, high quality, and accessible care to the people of Wahiawa. Its mission is to provide access to affordable, quality healthcare and wellness services to promote a healthy community in the spirit of aloha and compassion. The center’s desired long-term goal is to become the area’s first comprehensive health care provider and the only clinical provider that will be truly accessible by all. The center intends to deliver services regardless of ability to pay, and on a sliding discount schedule. The WCCH will provide a new, freestanding single point of access to core primary care services, including programs for women’s and children’s health, dental care, behavioral health and pharmacy services. For more information, visit wahiawahealth.org.
About Pali Momi Medical Center
With 128 beds and nearly 400 physicians on its medical staff, Pali Momi Medical Center offers a full range of services for the communities of Central and West O‘ahu. The hospital has delivered many medical firsts for the community, including Central and West O‘ahu’s only interventional cardiac catheterization unit to detect and treat heart disease, a fully integrated minimally invasive surgical suite, a comprehensive women’s center, CT scan and MRI services, and the state’s first retina center. Pali Momi is the only facility in Hawai‘i that uses a team triage approach in its emergency room, where patients are promptly evaluated by an emergency physician. The hospital is an affiliate of Hawai‘i Pacific Health, one of the state’s largest health care providers and a not-for-profit health care network of hospitals, clinics, physicians and other caregivers serving Hawai‘i and the Pacific region with high quality, compassionate care. In addition to Pali Momi, Hawai‘i Pacific Health includes Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Straub Clinic & Hospital and Wilcox Memorial Hospital. Learn more at palimomi.org.
About Straub Clinic & Hospital
Founded in 1921, Straub Clinic & Hospital is a fully integrated, not-for-profit health care system with a 159-bed hospital in Honolulu, a network of neighborhood clinics and a visiting specialist program that reaches throughout the state of Hawai‘i. With over 200 employed or contracted physicians who are leaders in their fields, Straub provides its patients with expert diagnoses and treatments for more than 32 different medical specialties, including bone and joint, heart, cancer, endocrinology/diabetes, family medicine, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, internal medicine, vascular and urology. Straub is home to the Pacific Region’s only multi-disciplinary burn treatment center. The hospital consistently brings new technologies and innovative medical practices to Hawai‘i, such as minimally invasive cardiac surgery and total joint replacement. Straub is an affiliate of Hawai’i Pacific Health, one of the state’s largest health care providers and a not-for-profit health care network of hospitals, clinics, physicians and other caregivers serving Hawai‘i and the Pacific region with high quality, compassionate care. In addition to Straub, Hawai‘i Pacific Health includes Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center and Wilcox Memorial Hospital. Learn more at straubhealth.org.