Your care team has a new name. Ali‘i Health Center is now Kona Health, a department of Kona Community Hospital. This brings Kona Health into West Hawaii Region’s system of care, to better coordinate primary care, specialty services, and emergency visits more closely. Patients will continue to see the same provider at the same location, now backed by the services, programs and support available across the region.
“Ali‘i Health Center has long been a vital source of services in our community and bringing it directly under Kona Community Hospital marks a major step forward for healthcare in West Hawai‘i,” said Clayton McGhan, CEO of WHR. “This brings our relationship into a single, more integrated system of care built around our patients, their families and their health.”
The change allows Kona Health to become a provider-based rural health center, a designation to keep primary care accessible in communities where it’s harder to reach with the support and resources of a hospital. Through WHR’s wider infrastructure, Kona Health will offer better coordinated care between visits and access to dedicated hospital support teams from routine wellness visits to complex, ongoing care.
The month of November is nationally recognized as Rural Health Awareness Month, highlighting the challenges rural communities face in accessing quality care and the resilience they show in meeting them. WHR has always been at the front of providing that care and Kona Health is a clear example of that commitment to our neighbors, families and friends. Kona Health strengthens our ability to care for residents where they are and keeping their healthcare within reach.
There are no changes to where or who patients see for care. Accepted insurance remains the same and clinic locations are unchanged. What’s different is how the clinics and hospitals coordinate your care as one system. Every facility now shares the same network, records and support teams, providing a better patient experience.
That connection is the heart of the change. Rather than operating as a separate clinic, Kona Health is now woven into the same network as KCH and Kohala Hospital, giving patients a more seamless path between primary care, specialty referrals, diagnostics and emergency services when you need them.
Kona Community Hospital, Kohala Hospital, and now Kona Health are part of West Hawaii Region. To learn more about our locations, services, providers and more visit WestHawaiiRegion.org.
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