Hilo Medical Center

The Conversation broadcast live Friday from Hilo Medical Center, where a $50 million donation from Marc Benioff will speed up the facility's expansion. Director of Marketing, Legislative and Public Affairs Elena Cabatu shared how the gift will help improve health care for Hawaiʻi residents.

Marc and Lynne Benioff are donating $150 million to two Hawaiʻi hospitals to help ensure continuous health care access in the state, according to a news release Tuesday.

The Green administration supports a $50 million investment to help Hilo Medical Center on Hawaiʻi Island. The hospital's CEO, Dan Brinkman, joined The Conversation live to talk about the health care needs of East Hawaiʻi residents and visitors.

Sixteen people have graduated from Hilo Medical Center’s year-long residency program in nursing. Most of them are from the Big Island. Hawaiʻi has a shortage of nurses, so the importance of graduating nurses on the Big Island has increased, especially as the state grapples with COVID-19.

Like many hospitals across the state, Hilo Medical Center on Hawaiʻi Island approached a crisis situation at the height of the COVID-19 surge. Case counts are going down — average daily new cases have dropped by 35% over the past two weeks. But Hawaiʻi's health care infrastructure is still overburdened.

Hilo Medical Center is celebrating a pair of recent developments. From the community’s standpoint, it’s all pointing towards getting more medical care on…