It’s interesting that 30 years ago people always said you didn’t go to Kona Community Hospital to get better, you went there to die. The facility was really bad. It was old, crumbling and dirty. It was built to serve the plantation community.
I must say, they have really got their act together in the past decade. They have a top notch emergency room (I’ve been there too many times) and Oncology unit and have remodeled rooms and their surgery center. But old perceptions die hard.
People still say they’ll fly to Honolulu for surgery or anything non-emergency related or even drive to North Hawaii Medical Center 30 miles away.