Queen’s Will Purchase, Reopen HMC-West Next Year
BY SENATOR MIKE GABBARD
Aloha Friends,
I hope you and your family are well and in good spirits.
My next “Listen Story” meeting will be held at the 3rd Cup Café & Venue in Kunia (94-615 Kupuohi St. #210) from 9 to 10 a.. this Saturday. This will be my last community meeting in Kunia, as I will no longer represent that area.
HUGE congratulations to the Makakilo-Kapolei-Honokai Hale Little League softball team for placing third in the Little League World Series in Portland, Ore., Aug. 15!
Please contact me if I can help you in any way. My phone number is 586- 6830 and email is sen- gabbard@capitol.hawaii.go v.
Queen’s to Buy and Reopen Hawaii Medical Center–West
Great news this month that the state Health and Planning Development Agency approved The Queen’s Medical Center’s plan to purchase and reopen Hawaii Medical Center–West (HMC-West) in Ewa.
HMC-West closed at the end of December 2011, which has left West Oahu without an acute-care hos- pital and has put a huge strain on other island hos- pitals to fill our emergency room service needs. Queen’s will buy the hos- pital for $73.2 million and plans to have it open for business by August 2013.
2012 Live and Let Live/Drive Safe 4 Ewa/Kapolei Campaign
For the fifth year, my office will be part of the planning committee for the Live & Let Live/Drive Safe 4 Ewa/Kapolei Campaign.
Some of the others helping out are Honolulu Police Department, Ewa Weed & Seed, Ewa Boys & Girls Club, Waianae Military Civilian Advisory Council, area legislators, Leeward District high schools, Neighborhood Security Watch groups and community leaders.
I’ll be organizing a poster contest with Leeward District high schools. The purpose of the campaign is to promote driver safety on our roads, especially during the upcoming holiday season. We’ll have sign-holding events leading up to the holidays after our kick-off at the Kapolei Police Station grounds Dec. 1 from 8 to 11:30 a.m.
If you’d like to get involved with the campaign, please contact officer Michael Dela Cruz at 738- 8408 or mdelacruz@honolulu.gov.
John Howell Retires from Easter Seals Hawaii
I attended the surprise luncheon for John Howell’s retirement Aug. 16 at the Easter Seals Hawaii’s Makakilo office. Howell served as the CEO and president of ESH for nearly 20 years.
After working for large corporations for the major- ity of his life, Howell was ready to lend his extensive skills to ESH, where he could give back to his community.
ESH provides exceptional services to ensure that all people with disabilities or special needs and their families have equal opportunities to live, learn, work and play. Under Howell’s watch, Easter Seals Hawaii now has 500 employees on five islands, with operating revenues of approximately $18 million, and it’s one of the top-ranked affiliates out of the 78 Easter Seals facilities across the nation. Mahalo nui loa to John for his decades of aloha for Easter Seals Hawaii and for its extra-special clients and employees.
