KEALAKEKUA, Hawaii >> The Kona Hospital Foundation has received an anonymous donation of $500,000 for a radiation therapy unit at the Kona Community Hospital, the foundation announced. Gift benefits Kona
radiation unitStar-Bulletin staff
That brings the total available for the unit to $750,000, half of the approximately $1.5 million expected cost. With other costs, such as a building with 5-foot-thick walls to house the unit, the total for the facility is expected to be $3.5 million, said foundation development director Cheryl Holdcroft.
The Hawaii Health Systems Corp. has promised to supply $2.5 million for the project once the foundation reaches $1 million.
With no radiation unit now in Kona, cancer patients have to drive to Hilo or fly to Honolulu for treatment.
Construction is slated to begin in mid-2004 and to be completed in about six months.
When completed, the facility is expected initially to provide 15 to 20 treatments per day, about half its capacity, Holdcroft said. Within two years, usage is expect to reach 80 percent of capacity.
The radiation facility is part of a three-year Campaign for Renewal that seeks to raise $5 million for the hospital. The campaign has already funded the repair and painting of the exterior of the hospital and the addition of a Nuclear Medicine Suite, which was funded in part by a $100,000 grant.
Other goals are updating the Medical Surgical Unit and remodeling and renovation of the emergency room, waiting room and main hospital entrance.
Holdcroft said hospitals will increasingly depend on private donations.
"This is the future of how we're going to have to make our hospitals work," she said.
Inquiries and contributions can be directed to Holdcroft at 808-322-4587.
Kona Community Hospital