Groups seek funds
to build West Hawaii
community health center
Community groups in West Hawaii are working to build a community health center in one of the last areas in the state without a facility.
The area has dental and medical shortages, and residents have problems getting health care, said John Buckstead, president of the newly incorporated West Hawaii Community Health Center. Access is difficult both in terms of transportation to facilities and "having some way to pay for medical care," he said.
Needs are great for children, mothers and obstetrical, gynecological, substance abuse and family planning services, he said.
Almost the entire state is covered by community health centers, including two on the Big Island in Hilo and Hamakua, Buckstead said, but there is nothing on the west side.
"It is a huge distance for an island, 80 miles from north to south, from Ocean View to Kawaihae, so it is a huge geographic area," he said.
The area has large segments of underinsured and uninsured residents, he said. "A lot of single-parent families, a lot of teenage births, a lot of underweight-child births -- all those kinds of indicators."
He said the Salvation Army set up a clinic in Kona a few years ago that serves people with no other access to health care, under a special arrangement because there is no other facility.
He said the Salvation Army began working with community leaders about a year ago to establish a federally funded community health center.
AlohaCare, a state QUEST health plan, gave the newly incorporated task force $53,000 to hire consultants.
A 15-member board of directors was formed in February comprising consumers, health-care professionals and community leaders, Buckstead said.
Consultants retained through the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center worked with the task force to draft a grant application to the U.S. Department of Health and Services.
"I was shocked having to work with data, seeing what it is like and the lack of providers," said Joyce O'Brien, associate director of the Waianae health center. "There are just pockets of people in need. What you see there is all beautiful homes and tourist industry. It overshadows the need."
If their proposal is successful, the West Hawaii community will get a $650,000 grant, Buckstead said.
"But more important, we would be recognized as a federally qualified health center, which would entitle us to certain billing privileges and liability coverage for medical professionals."
If it gets the money, the new corporation would work with the Salvation Army, and about Jan. 1 the West Hawaii Community Health Center would take over the operation and expand into a full center, he said.
The incorporated group has begun advertising for an executive director and has identified sites for a permanent facility, Buckstead said.
"We think we have a tremendous amount of need and an excellent proposal," he said.
But there is stiff competition for such grants, he added. "If we do not get a grant in the first round, we are intent on moving ahead with a community health center, and just like others, we will be seeking funds to get us started."