News

Wailuku, HI, December 21, 2021 – Maui Memorial Medical Center is delighted to announce a gift from Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder and Executive Chair. The donation will be used to expand its Emergency Department.

Maui Memorial Medical Center’s Emergency Department patient traffic has risen steadily every year and is expected to continue to grow as Maui’s population increases. To meet this demand, the Emergency Department must be ready 24/7 to care for patients who arrive with a wide range of emergent needs.

“We are grateful for the generosity of Jeff Bezos. His gift will benefit our Maui community and help serve its health needs,” says Maui Memorial Medical Center Chief Executive Officer, Michael Rembis.

Currently, more than 52,000 patients are treated at Maui Memorial Medical Center each year, making it the second busiest emergency department in the entire state of Hawaii. Nearly 1,000 of those patients require care from its Trauma Center— that’s an average of more than two trauma patients a day who arrive critically injured and require life-saving medical treatments.

To provide the most sophisticated care available for its trauma patients, Maui Memorial Medical Center has been working towards Level II verification from the American College of Surgeons. A Level II Trauma Center includes 24-hour immediate and dedicated coverage by general surgeons, as well as coverage for the specialties of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, radiology and critical care—the services needed when a life is at stake and every minute counts. Additionally, the Emergency Department systems have been updated to respond to critical and time-sensitive patient needs that can range from blood transfusions to cardiac intervention.

To date, Maui Memorial Medical Center’s work towards the Level II certification has resulted in improved patient outcomes and a reduction in patient transfers off island—transfers that are tremendously expensive and disruptive to families. Since beginning this work, Maui Memorial Medical Center has seen a decrease in transfers from 124 patients in 2018 to only 25 in 2020.

With the generous gift from Bezos, this work can continue, furthering Maui Memorial Medical Center’s vision of providing the highest level of care available anywhere, right here on Maui.

For more information about Maui Health Foundation and how to support health care in Maui County, visit mauihealth.org/foundation.

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About Maui Health Foundation
Maui Health Foundation is dedicated to the philanthropic support of the Maui Health hospitals. Our Foundation works hand in hand with Maui Health to be a lifeline for our patients by supporting patient care, advancing programs and technology, and creating healing environments for all who walk through our doors. Your donations support the health of our islands’ communities as well as Maui Health employees and can include gifts of cash, property or securities, corporate grants, bequests, and employer matching contributions. For more information visit mauihealth.org/foundation.

About Maui Health
Maui Health, aka Maui Health System, community hospitals and associated clinics affiliated with Kaiser Permanente, includes Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital, Lanai Community Hospital and associated clinics, and serves the people of Maui and Lanai. The facilities under Maui Health employ nearly 1700 Maui County residents, partner with over 450 hospital-based physicians, clinicians, and community-based primary and specialty physicians, and are open to all patients regardless of health insurance coverage. Maui Health is committed to delivering high quality, affordable, patient-centered health care and improving the health of the community. Maui Health is supported by Kaiser Permanente’s industry-leading technology systems, evidence-based medicine and nationally recognized care quality. For more information, visit mauihealth.org.