We’re proud to announce the new design for Hāmākua-Kohala Health [HKH] Rural Health, Wellness and Teaching Center!

The new $15 million, 24,000 sf HKH Center will provide comprehensive wellness care and training for pharmacists, medical assistants, doctors, other health center staff. With groundbreaking envisioned for mid-2024, Hāmākua-Kohala Health officials hope the new facility will welcome its first patients in 2025.

The facility will be located on the five-acre former site of the Kohala Club Hotel – a traditional community gathering spot – between Hāwī and Kapa‘au, and will provide primary and preventive care to people of all ages and will serve as a comprehensive home to a patient’s primary-care practitioner and medical specialists, family dentist, in-house pharmacy and even care coordinators for added support. Pediatric and behavioral health wings will provide specialized services. A proactive health philosophy will guide care to encourage better overall patient well-being, in contrast to traditional models where health services are reactive and provided to only those who need care. It will also incorporate a traditional cultural healing center that will offer lomi lomi, ho‘oponopono and la‘au lapa‘au, as well as other culturally appropriate practices for healthy minds and bodies.

In addition to providing critically needed healthcare, Hāmākua-Kohala Health Teaching Center will serve as a teaching and educational facility for doctors, nurses, medical assistants, dentists and pharmacists. It will offer residency opportunities for medical residents, allowing local students the opportunity to remain in the North Hawai‘i community for training and careers. Hands-on healthcare research opportunities in rural setting are rare; the new center will allow local students the chance to practice and study rural healthcare and indigenous health.

About Hāmākua-Kohala Health

A community-based health center founded in 1966 that provides comprehensive primary, behavioral and dental services at four Hawai‘i Island locations: Kohala, Waimea, Honoka‘a and Laupāhoehoe. The center provides healthcare to persons of all ages, regardless of their health insurance status or ability to pay. It serves over 10,000 patients each year.

To help bring the Hāmākua-Kohala Health Rural Health, Wellness and Teaching Center to the people of North Hawai‘i, please visit:

hamakua-health.org/ways-to-give.

The need for health services is already great in North Hawai‘i and only growing; HKH’s patient community doubled from 5,000 to more than 10,000 in recent years.

“Healthcare resources in North Hawai‘i have been stretched thin for too long, and the new center will help provide greater access to care for people across the entire region,” explains Irene Carpenter, CEO of Hāmākua-Kohala Health. “In addition, we greatly look forward to training the next generation of medical providers, dentists and pharmacists from this very community as we ‘grow our own’ who understand the special needs of North Hawai‘i.” Carpenter notes the longstanding shortage of medical professionals in Hawai‘i, particularly in rural areas on the Neighbor Islands. She continues, “This new facility will be a teaching center to provide jobs in our local community from medical assistants to medical doctors.”

The new Hāmākua-Kohala Health Teaching Center’s will create new well-paying, professional jobs. HKH is also committed to supporting the local economy with construction jobs. Our very own Laurel Swan, AIA, serves as the project architect. She lives in North Kohala and heads our WhiteSpace Architects Waimea branch since it opened in 2020.

Currently, the facility operates out of a small leased structure near the Kohala Hospital in Kapa‘au; from there, it provides primary, dental and behavioral health services. Our design for the center is driven by the specific project site and the needs of the facility.

The design will feature a classic Hawaiiana, plantation-era aesthetic to match the rural character of the region. To ensure that the center fits with the community scale, it is integrated into the landscape in design and color palette.

The two-story building includes breezy interior courtyards, outdoor gathering spaces, covered lanai and a covered porte-cochere that leads to a central circulation area that will allow a natural flow to other wings. It will feel welcoming to patients and will take advantage of natural lighting and ventilation. Even parking areas are thoughtfully incorporated: Instead of a monolithic garage, a parking lot meanders through the property to allow circular flow, as if along a lane.

Two of three existing Kohala Club Hotel buildings will be demolished; while conversion was considered by Hāmākua-Kohala Health, the two buildings were determined to be in such poor condition that restoration would be impractical. The remaining two-story building will likely be converted into student housing in a future phase. To ensure continuity of care during the phased project, phase 1 will allow HKH to vacate the current leased Kapa‘au location with no interruption in care. In a future phase of the project, a separate 6,000-square-foot residential building will be constructed. On-site housing will greatly benefit the research/training facility by providing students with affordable places to stay.

“As with all of our work, the new design responds to what Hāmākua-Kohala Health needs now, yet also looks ahead to the future,” says Laurel Swan “We believe that we have designed a health center that will work successfully in 2025, as well as for the next century to accommodate the changing needs of this unique community.”

In addition to Swan, other members of the WhiteSpace Architects’ project team include Ana Ruiz, AIA, project architect; and Stacey Villarino, Assoc. AIA, and Rebecca “Becky” Ziebelman, Assoc. AIA, both architectural designers.