Hilo hospital expansion on target for 2027 completion

The $80 million expansion of Hilo Benioff Medical Center is taking shape, with certain facilities likely ready for use early next year and full completion expected in 2027, hospital officials said.

The new two-story medical office building, or MOB 3, stands with the original two MOB structures across from the main hospital’s emergency room, and a new enclosed bridge connects the second and third medical office buildings.

The third building will allow the urgent care facility currently housed in MOB 2 to expand its footprint and serve more patients, HBMC Chief Information Officer Kris Wilson said.

Specialty care like oncology currently offered in the other MOBs also will expand with new offices in the third building, she said.

“It should open early next year. That’s what we’re targeting,” Wilson said.

The sidewalk in front of the MOB complex and its adjacent parking lot was completed the last week of October, HBMC Director of Marketing Elena Cabatu said.

She said it is important for patients navigating the cones and construction at the site to stay out of the street and always utilize the crosswalks when moving between the large parking lot next to the complex and the main hospital.

Wilson also pointed out that the large lot features one new development patients and visitors must remain aware of: The opening directly across from the main hospital that used to serve both directions of traffic is now exclusively an entrance, with an exclusive exit serving the lot letting cars out on the downhill portion of Waianuenue Avenue.

With construction still active on both sides of the street and a plethora of parking options surrounding the main hospital, Wilson and Cabatu advised that patients and visitors give themselves ample time to get through potentially slower traffic up Waianuenue Avenue and to navigate the newly forming layout of the hospital’s buildings.

Wheelchair and golf cart valet service for those needing mobility assistance is still available for $8 by calling (808) 747-0275 after parking.

“We acknowledge that parking, overall, has been a real challenge with so much going on on campus,” Wilson said, with Cabatu adding that “the community responded quite positively.”

The 66,000-square-foot building next to the main hospital that broke ground in April 2024 has now taken shape with architectural elements to match the existing hospital and three clear floors visible from the street through the still-open front of the structure.

The ground floor will be a covered parking lot, while the second floor will offer a 19-bed Intensive Care Unit, Wilson said. The third floor will be a 36-bed Progressive Care Unit, which Wilson described as “an ICU step-down” for patients who aren’t in critical condition but require hospitalization during treatment and recovery.

“I think what’s proven is that the patient census has been really steady and has been supporting, all throughout the build, the need for more beds,” Cabatu said of the 55-bed upgrade offered by the expansion.

The bangs and rumbles of active construction can be heard and felt by medical professionals, visitors and patients in the main hospital, which administrative staff try to ease by offering ear plugs and moving more sensory-sensitive individuals to quieter area, Wilson said.

“Having our staff work through active construction is really tough, and they’ve risen to the occasion” she said. “They’ve done really well to accommodate us to the best of their abilities.”

The final update to facility — renovation of the main hospital’s second floor to add a specialized Family Birthing Center offering premium care to mothers and babies — was originally planned to begin around this time, but is now expected to begin demolition and construction in February, Wilson said.

All work on the hospital is expected to be completed in 2027, she said.

“It’s difficult right now, but it’ll be definitely worth it in the end,” Wilson said. “Construction continues, and we are working our hardest to get all of these projects completed so we can expand these services, provide better care — stronger care — for our East Hawaii community.”

Email Kyveli Diener at kdiener@hawaiitribune-herald.com.