West Hawaii is one step closer to getting more access to healthcare with the announcement of Queen’s Health System’s acquisition of land in North Kona.

The Queen’s Health System and Lanihau Properties, LLC jointly announced Tuesday that Queen’s has acquired a 31.15-acre parcel of land at Honokohau Nui (WestHawai‘i Business Park) in Kailua-Kona. The board and leadership of Queen’s, in partnershipwith clinicians and key community partners on Hawaii Island, will begin planning the next steps with regards to the property and how it can be developed with ambulatory care services that willbest meet the needs of the West Hawaii community.

“Hawaii Island is a critical community in the Queen’s regional network of care and expandingcare across the island is a high priority,” said Jill Hoggard Green, PhD, RN, President and CEO of The Queen’s Health System in a media release. “This latest investment demonstrates our commitment to increasing the accessibility of health care services throughout the state.”

Hawaii Island still lacks sufficient ambulatory care to serve the island’s growing and aging population.

Statewide, there is a 20% shortage of health care providers. On the neighbor islands, that number jumps to 40%.

Often, patients must travel to Oahu to see specialists or have surgery.

With the addition of a clinic in Kona, Queen’s is attempting to keep care close to home by improving access to needed care on the island.

Queen’s has increased access to primary and specialty care through the Queen’s Clinically Integrated Physician Network (QCIPN), which has brought theAli‘i Health Center into the Network serving the Kona community. Ali‘i Health Center and Kona Community Hospital also now have access to Queen’s electronic medical record system, improving the quality, safety and coordination of care. In addition, two dozen East Hawaii primary care practices joined the Network to support high quality, safe care that is close to home.

Through Physician Organization integrations, the QCIPN added primary care physicians in North Hawaii, West Hawaii and East Hawaii.

Queen’s North Hawaii Community Hospital provides acute care, Primary Care Clinic, Cardiology Clinic, Cancer Center and more.

“As a long-term kama‘aina company, with deep Hawaii roots, we are very excited to be a part of this multi-year collaborative effort with The Queen’s Health System and the County and State of Hawaii, to be able to improve the opportunities for health care for the West Hawaii region and especially, the growing Kona community,” said Riley Smith, President and CEO of Lanihau Properties, LLC.

“Queen’s is looking toward the future with a goal of keeping pace with the expected growth on Hawaii Island and improving access to high quality and comprehensive health care,” Hoggard Green said. “Excellence, compassion and access to care have been our guiding principles for more than 160 years and continue to fuel our vision for the future.”

In addition to Queen’s plans for a new West Hawaii Clinic, Governor Josh Green has attempted to address the shortfall in healthcare workers, allocated $30 million over two years in the state budget to create loan forgiveness for over 700 workers.

“We have now formed the Hawaii Health Corp, so we have loan forgiveness for any health care provider that wants to come and practice in our state, whether it is a social worker, a psychologist, naturopath, physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, nurse, anyone who will commit themselves to working here to pay off their medical school debt,” Green said in a June address to the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce.

Green also signed SB674 into Law in June which allows Hawaii to enter into the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (already in effect in 37 other states, the District of Columbia, and Guam) to allow physicians to more easily practice in Hawaii, while still meeting nationally established standards for education and training.