State funding supports 24-hour ER at Hawaii hospital

RE: Rural Hawaii, From Modern Physician:

Waianae (Hawaii) Coast Comprehensive Health Center received $1 million in state funding to maintain its emergency room 24 hours a day year-round. Without the grant, the not-for-profit facility would have been forced to eliminate services between midnight and 8 a.m., officials said. Established in 1972, Waianae Coast is the largest community-owned health center in the state, serving 23,000 patients annually, and is the only facility equipped to handle emergency medical care in the 50,000-resident Waianae area, located on the west side of the island of Oahu. The nearest emergency room is located 16 miles -- or about 30 to 40 minutes -- away at 102-bed St. Francis Medical Center-West, Ewa Beach.