Kaʻū News Briefs March 5, 2024

 

Kaʻū Hospital and its Rural Health Clinic are expected to benefit from a $50 million donation to sister facility Hilo Medical Center through funding from Lynne and Marc Benioff for physician recruitment and additional specialized facilities and services in Hilo. Photo by Julia Neal

$50 MILLION WILL GO TO KAʻŪ HOSPITAL'S SISTER FACILITY HILO MEDICAL CENTER from Lynne Benioff and Marc Benioff, CEO and Chair of SalesForce. Benioff ranks 224th among the richest billionaires in the world, with $10.5B, as reported by Bloomberg on March 5.
    Benioff has maintained residences on this island for nearly 50 years, owns homes in Kohala Coast resort communities and purchased numerous properties in Kamuela, according to a recent story on National Public Radio. According to Bloomberg, Benioff signs off letters to stockholders with the word Aloha.
    Hawai'i Gov. Josh Green who started his Hawai'i medical career in Kaʻū, said, "Before becoming governor I worked as an ER doctor in these hospitals, so I know what it means to have a true benefactor step up and rescue services. This huge donation will support the care for thousands of critically ill people in Hawai'i. This generosity is a game-changer for our state."
    One of the Benioffs' major focuses in philanthropy is health. Marc Benioff said, “If you want to have impact, it is important to have focus — and the biggest focus in our philanthropy has been public health because it’s where we feel we can have the biggest impact. But we’ve always been committed to supporting a strong safety net in Hawai'i in many areas and have invested heavily in schools, public parks, affordable housing, health care and first responders.”
    Hilo Medical Center will be renamed The Benioff Hilo Medical Center. Also renamed will be Straub in Honolulu. It will become the Straub Benioff Medical Center. Straub will receive improvements through a Benioff gift of $100 million to Hawai'i Pacific Health, one of Hawai'i's largest healthcare nonprofits, to create a "healthcare campus of the future" at Straub.

Additional physician recruitment through new funding could help PA Benjamin Lawlor and Medical Director Dr. Jennifer Shrestha at Kaʻū Hospital and its Rural Health Clinic. Photo from Ka'u Hospital

   The Benioff donations will help Kaʻū through improving the physician recruitment program. Kaʻū residents will also benefit from improvements to Hilo Hospital, where Kaʻū patients are often admitted to receive specialized care. The $50 million donation will help construct a new intensive care unit with a wing containing 19 more ICU beds and 36 more patient beds. The funding will also go toward a 12-bed state-of-the-art family birthing center, neurosurgical program and behavioral health services.
    Funding from the Benioffs will also connect hospitals here with San Francisco-based UCSF Health, which runs University of California San Francisco Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals to expand its efforts to support Hawai'i patients in need of specialist care. UCSF will extend its clinical expertise across the Pacific and bring specialized care in oncology and neurology to more residents across the state.
    Hilo Medical Center CEO Dan Brinkman said its groundbreaking will be held in April. The project has received another $50 million from the State of Hawai'i. “We’re very excited about this,” said Brinkman. “We’re really counting our blessings here, and we have a whole lot of work to do.”
   The gifts bring the Ben­ioffs’ total philanthropy in Hawai'i to more than $250 million, which includes a recent gift of 282 acres to a Hilo-based nonprofit for affordable housing.

Marc Benioff, and wife Lynne, have donated $50 million to Hilo Medical  Center, which will also benefit patients at Kaʻū Hospital & Rural Health Clinic. Photo from NPR

    The Benioffs have also funded state-of-the-art medical helicopters and firetrucks, made previous contributions to Hilo Medical Center and supported the Hawaii Island Community Health Center and Kona Hospital Foundation, among others.
    Fire safety has long been a priority for the Benioffs, years before the Lahaina fires in August. Since 2017 they have partnered with the Sayre Foundation to donate a dozen firetrucks, including tankers, and to help bring a rescue boat and two state-of-the-art medical helicopters to Hawai'i.
    “Our islands have lost so much to fire,” said Benioff. “We all have to do more to support and protect our first responders, who do so much to help keep us safe in Hawai'i.”
   With the latest contribution, Benioff said he’s not done giving to Hawai'i, which he has considered home since 1974.
   “Lynne and I are excited to become more public givers to inspire others to give back to and support this beautiful community and to cultivate a more robust culture of philanthropy in Hawai'i,” he said in a statement. “With this gift we’re more than doubling our total giving in Hawai'i — and we’ll keep going.
“Investing in Hawai'i is a major focus for us, and we will continue to support critical needs like public health, affordable housing, education and the environment,” he continued. “This gift is a north star for us that sets our direction for future giving and hopefully inspires others to give as well.”