HONOLULU – The Queen’s Health Systems (Queen’s), Kuakini Support Services, Inc. (Kuakini), Hawaiʻi Medical Service Association (HMSA), and Satellite Healthcare, Inc. have kicked off construction of a new outpatient clinic that will increase access to innovative, much-needed dialysis services for the people of Hawaiʻi.
A blessing was held yesterday for the 10,000-square-foot clinic, which will be located on the ground floor of the Hale Pulama Mau building on the Kuakini Health System campus. The center, the first-of-its-kind in Hawaiʻi, will serve both in-center and home dialysis patients and will include 23 dialysis stations, two private isolation rooms, and two rooms that will be used to conduct home dialysis training.
Kidney disease is an epidemic in Hawaiʻi, affecting nearly one in every five Hawaiʻi residents. The new clinic will increase access to necessary health care services at a reasonable cost. Along with the three local, non-profit organizations, the center is being developed as a joint venture with Satellite Healthcare, Inc., the nation’s leader in home dialysis services.
“This new center will provide more convenience for patients and their families,” said Jason Chang, chief operating officer at The Queen’s Health Systems. “Queen’s is continuously looking for ways to deliver high-quality care in comfortable, accessible settings. Our goal is to provide dialysis patients with greater access to the services they need, so they can receive their treatments on an outpatient basis and we can improve their quality of life.”
“This new, state-of-the-art center will allow more dialysis patients to get the care they need, but also continue home dialysis education, a proven alternative that results in better outcomes and allows patients to maintain a higher quality of life outside of the hospital, in their homes,” said Rudy R. Marilla, vice president of provider partnerships at HMSA and president of Integrated Services Inc. (ISI), a subsidiary of HMSA. “HMSA and ISI are proud to join our local health system partners and an industry leader in dialysis in this venture.”
“Kuakini is pleased to partner with Queen’s, HMSA, and Satellite Healthcare, Inc. in the development of a new outpatient dialysis center to serve the community,” said Gary Kajiwara, president and chief executive officer at Kuakini Medical Center. “This project is a Kuakini story coming full circle, as we started the second outpatient dialysis center on Oʻahu in the mid-1970s, the Kuakini Kidney Disease Center. The Center’s ownership was transferred in 1983 and departed from our campus in 1996. Kuakini’s Board and Health Care Team are looking forward to the start of the new dialysis center and its home dialysis program.”
“We are proud to be a part of this effort, which unites several like-minded organizations and provides the people of Hawaiʻi with an alternative to care from a non-profit company dedicated to making life better for those living with kidney disease,” said Jeff Goffman, chief executive officer at Satellite Healthcare.
Final construction is expected by February 2022, with the first patient being seen later in the year.
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The Queen’s Health Systems (QHS) is a nonprofit corporation established in 1985 to provide expanded health care capabilities to the people of Hawaii and the Pacific Basin. It is Hawaii’s preeminent family of health care-related companies, and has more than 8,000 employees and more than 1,500 affiliated physicians and providers in its statewide network. QHS consists of The Queen’s Medical Center (Hawaii’s oldest hospital founded in 1859), The Queen’s Medical Center – West O‘ahu, Molokai General Hospital, Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital, The Queen’s Health Care Centers, Queen’s Island Urgent Care, Queen Emma Land Company, Queen’s Development Corporation, Queen’s Insurance Exchange, Queen’s Clinically Integrated Physician Network, and Queen’s ‘Akoakoa, and has ownership interests in CareResource Hawaii, Hamamatsu/Queen’s PET Imaging Center, Diagnostic Laboratory Services, and EmPower Health.
Integrated Services Inc. (ISI) is a wholly owned subsidiary of HMSA that serves as a holding company for various subsidiaries and joint ventures that support its members, businesses, providers, and community partners but fall outside of HMSA’s core business functions. Examples to date include Hawaii Family Medical Centers, which has operated several primary care clinics to support access for HMSA members in rural areas, EmPower Health, an advanced primary care clinic opened in partnership with The Queen’s Health Systems, and Maui Lani Physicians & Surgeons, a team of physicians focused on providing the Maui community with comprehensive women’s health services. ISI functions asa vehicle for innovation and collaboration, as HMSA evolves from a health plan to a health organization and continues to work to improve access to high quality care for the people of Hawaii.
Kuakini Health System (KHS) is a non-profit corporation organized for charitable, research and educational purposes to support and encourage social, health and medical care services. KHS is the parent company of four non-profit subsidiaries – Kuakini Medical Center (established in 1900); Kuakini Geriatric Care, Inc.; Kuakini Foundation; and Kuakini Support Services, Inc. KHS is committed to improving the health status of the community through comprehensive acute medical, surgical, and emergency services; long term care, residential care home, and geriatric care programs for the elderly; primary care services; medical and health care training and education programs; and biomedical research.
Satellite Healthcare, Inc. is a leading, national not-for-profit kidney care company that has been dedicated to making life better for patients with kidney disease since 1974. Satellite Healthcare and its entities provide in-center and home dialysis services, innovative research and clinical trials as well as early and end-stage kidney disease management. Our focus is to improve the quality and access of dialysis care, reduce costs and implement integrated value-based care models. Satellite Healthcare has more than 80 dialysis centers in five states and relationships with some of the most prestigious nephrologists and institutions in the United States. In addition, Satellite Healthcare has a well-recognized, enduring commitment to philanthropy and community service, from funding millions of dollars in research grants to sponsoring kidney programs nationwide. For more information, visit satellitehealthcare.com.