Community members, including elected officials and health experts, celebrated the construction groundbreaking of the newly renamed Straub Benioff Medical Center on Thursday.
Redevelopment construction is taking place at Hawaiʻi Pacific Health’s current Straub Medical Center in Honolulu, following a $100 million donation from tech billionaire and philanthropist Marc Benioff.
The funds from Benioff and his wife, Lynne, along with a $50 million donation for upgrades to the Hilo Medical Center, are collectively described by HPH as one of the largest philanthropic gifts in Hawaiʻi's history.
“Today is an exciting step in our journey toward bringing our vision for the health care campus of the future to reality. … With the redevelopment of Straub Benioff Medical Center, we will be able to transform the way health care is delivered and make the greatest impact for our community now and for generations to come,” said Ray Vara, HPH president and CEO, in a statement.
The Honolulu center will get a 1,600-stall, environmentally friendly parking building, a fitness center for employees, and a conference center. It’ll be 700,000 square feet when finished, which HPH said is three times its current size.
A portion of the $50 million for the Hilo center will go to a family birthing center, intensive care unit and other programs. The center is being renamed the Hilo Benioff Medical Center.
Those in attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony included Gov. Josh Green, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi, as well as city and state lawmakers.
University of California-San Francisco Health has also received millions of dollars from the Benioffs and is expanding its care to the two Hawaiʻi centers.
“ We believe that this is going to be a beginning, not just for a new vision for health care here in Oʻahu, but across the state of Hawaiʻi, and collaborative health care — the idea that getting all of these institutions to work more closely together. We've created an incredible partnership across great institutions. It's a new model for these patients and providers,” he said.
HPH said the construction at the Honolulu center won’t affect patient care.
