Governor Josh Green, M.D.

The Hilo Benioff Medical Center has commenced construction of its expansion project that will include a new 19-bed Intensive Care Unit and 36 additional hospital beds. This $80 million project, marked with a ceremony last month, has been made possible due to a combination of public and private funding and will help reduce the shortage of hospital beds on Hawai‘i Island.

The Hawai‘i State legislature awarded $50 million for the expansion project, as well as $18M for Kona Community Hospital; $21.2 million for improvements at Samuel Mahelona Hospital in Kapa‘a; and $39 million for Maui Health System for repair and maintenance projects. The funds were released by Governor Josh Green, M.D., in March to support health care infrastructure.

Above: Governor Josh Green, M.D., and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff chatting with their o‘o sticks in hand.

“Today marks a great day for health care in our state as we break ground on this historic project to increase hospital bed capacity on Hawai‘i Island,”  Governor Green said at the ceremony. “The island’s largest hospital desperately needed these beds to care for the growing community and today, we are delivering on our commitment to improve healthcare in the state. We are honored to partner with the Benioff ‘ohana to double the state’s commitment to support Hilo Benioff Medical Center.”

Last month, Marc and Lynne Benioff generously donated $50 million to the hospital, a portion of which will go toward the expansion project.

“We feel honored and blessed to have been part of the Hawai‘i community for so many years and to be able to support our ‘Ohana in this way,” Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO and co-founder of Salesforce. “Together, we’re not just adding a building, we’re bringing a world-class continuum of care to our community, partnering with Hawai‘i Pacific Health on O‘ahu and extending it to the mainland with UCSF Health in San Francisco, one of the world’s great medical research institutions. Our hope is that everyone on our island can get the expertise and care they need, when they need it.”