Kuakini Health System

Description

Mission Statement
The mission of Kuakini Health System is to improve the health status of the community by

providing comprehensive health care services and programs at reasonable cost

continuously improving the quality of health care services and programs

encouraging clinical research

supporting training and educational programs for health care personnel and

offering community service programs

Vision Statement
Kuakini will continue to build on the strong cultural heritage and tradition of caring established by its founders in 1900 which has been the foundation for Kuakinis highly respected reputation for providing quality health care services The patients and residents are Kuakinis primary customers who will be provided services whether basic or complex at a sustained level of excellence We believe that by doing the common things uncommonly well we will create a safe environment with quality outcomes Our goal is to make Kuakini the safest hospital and long term care facility in Hawaii

Kuakinis primary areas of focus are

Quality Outcomes
Cultivate a culture of safety and quality that will deliver an exceptional customer experience and build the loyalty of patients residents and the Health Care Team

Organizational
Strengthen Kuakinis financial viability as an independent nonprofit health system

Effectiveness
with leadership positions in adult medical surgical care outpatient care and long term care geriatric care

Enlightened
Strengthen the Health Care Team by building a streamlined and productive insourced

Organization
work team comprised of critical thinkers who are innovative enablers of transferring knowledge among Team members and committed to continuous quality improvement with a can do attitude

Technology
Leverage technology to achieve quality outcomes support the workforce create research opportunities and manage data in a filmless and paperless environment

Research amp Training
Maximize Kuakinis research data and content for future research and support a skilled health care workforce through education and training initiatives with academic centers

Virtual Health Care Organization
Adopt a mindset that will enable the Health Care Team to be flexible and adaptable able to transform Kuakini to meet the changes within the health care environment and meet the challenges from the globalization of health care

History

History
In the late 1800s the sugar plantations in Hawaii were booming and the contract laborers were the backbone of the industry Between 1885 and 1900 over 70000 Japanese immigrants crossed the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii to work in the flourishing cane fields Low wages and unexpected expenses soon caught up with the newcomers and many found themselves in destitute circumstances

During this period relief to needy persons was provided according to ethnicity by various charity organizations such as the Hawaiian Relief Society British Benevolent Society and Ladies Portuguese Charitable Association

Although several Japanese charity groups were formed these organizations provided limited relief and many were in existence for only a short time However one such organization the Japanese Benevolent Society survived over the years to become the forerunner to Kuakini Medical Center

The Society was established as a voluntary association in 1892 and incorporated in 1899 as an eleemosynary corporation for the purpose of giving relief to the Japanese in Hawaii whose needs resulted from illness poverty accident or other causes Shortly after its incorporation the Society thought about constructing a hospital but no immediate action was taken until after disaster struck

In December 1899 many residents in the Chinatown section of Honolulu were afflicted with bubonic plague and the entire area was quarantined Many structures were burned by the Board of Health to eliminate the contamination In January 1900 one fire got out of control and razed the entire area leaving thousands of Japanese immigrants without homes food or clothing The Society provided emergency relief and then immediately started plans to build a hospital

The Society did not have an endowment and depended on membership dues and donations to finance its activities After raising enough funds they purchased a site with more than half an acre of land located in the Kapalama district of Honolulu south of King Street at the end of a narrow lane In July 1900 a twostory wooden building containing 38 beds was completed and called the Japanese Charity Hospital It operated for two years at full capacity and soon became inadequate for patient needs

In August 1902 the hospital moved a few miles away into another twostory wooden structure that had 40 beds For fifteen years the Society maintained this hospital until it too became overcrowded and rundown

By April 1917 funds from the Society and public contributions which included a special donation from Emperor Taisho and the Empress of Japan helped build a modern facility at the hospitals third and present site on Kuakini Street The 16building hospital had 70 beds and was equipped with uptodate appliances and facilities The institution whose name was shortened to Japanese Hospital was situated on almost four acres of land and had abundant space for the immediate as well as future needs of the hospital

The Japanese Hospitals nursing school was started in 1931 and provided a threeyear training program for an average of 20 nurses per class Initially the nursing program was patterned after the training schools in Japan and used Japanese language classes However this gradually changed during the 1940s and the schools faculty began working with the Territory of Hawaiis Board of Nursing to upgrade the school

In 1932 many of the Japanese immigrant men who had worked on the plantations had reached retirement age were unmarried and had no families to care for them

In order to assist these elderly men who werent acutely ill but needed a protective environment the Society built the Japanese Home of Hawaii on the grounds of the hospital using community donations The 50bed facility the forerunner of the present Kuakini Home provided care food and shelter for these elderly men

A major expansion program that was completed in 1939 increased the hospitals size to 100 beds and provided more services with the addition of Xray surgical pediatric and maternity facilities

A portion of the new building designed with a copper dome was called the Imperial Gift Memorial Building in recognition of the financial support Kuakini received from the Imperial Family of Japan In 1934 Emperor Showa and the Empress of Japan donated 10000 yen for the hospital expansion program

With the onset of World War II in 1941 the U S Army took control of over half of the hospitals facilities During the war the hospital was called the 147th General Hospital Oahu Due to the fact that Kuakinis Board consisted of descendants of Japanese immigrants Kuakini was the only hospital in the United States to be occupied by the US Army In 1942 the hospital changed its name to Kuakini Hospital and Home

There is a controversy over how the hospital received its name A few sources indicate that the hospital was named after Chief Kuakini who was the acting governor of Oahu in the early 1800s and the brotherinlaw of King Kamehameha I Others dispute this fact and say the hospital was named after the street it was on The hospital was returned to civilian control in 1945

Along with its new identity Kuakini had broadened its scope of services from initially caring for the Japanese immigrants to providing health care services for the entire community With this change there came a need for larger and newer facilities to adequately provide quality patient care

A major fund drive in 1951 financed the construction of the hospitals Ewa wing and part of its Waikiki wing which increased Kuakinis bed count to 140 beds

The hospitals nursing school was accredited in 1951 but due to continuing problems in faculty recruitment the school was closed and no students were admitted in 1952 The last class graduated in 1955

Kuakini received its first accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals now called the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in 1954 At that time there were 235 employees 63 fulltime registered nurses and 225 doctors on the medical staff

With its modern wellequipped facilities the hospital was an excellent training ground for interns in need of further medical experience Physicians from Japan came to Kuakini to receive training in American medicine before going to mainland hospitals for additional experience Senior medical technology students from the University of Hawaii spent a year in the hospitals laboratory for training and nursing students obtained their clinical experience in medical and surgical nursing at Kuakini

In 1956 the governing Board of Kuakini authorized the use of an architectural consultant to assist in the development of a master plan for future physical expansion at Kuakini

By 1958 the hospitals internship program was accredited by the American Medical Association and was also recognized by the State Department as a designated ExchangeVisitor Program which permitted Kuakini to bring doctors from foreign countries to the hospital where they obtained their postgraduate medical training To provide housing for the hospital interns Kuakini built two apartment buildings in 1963

In the late 1950s more physicians became specialists and pediatric and obstetric patients began to seek these physicians as well as the specialty hospitals for their care With the resulting low occupancy rate of its obstetrics and pediatrics units and the need for more medicalsurgical beds Kuakini made the difficult decision to eliminate its obstetrics department in 1964 and its pediatrics department in 1967 This decision not only benefited Kuakini through the availability of more beds for medical and surgical services but it also helped increase census at the specialty hospitals in the community through the elimination of duplicate services at Kuakini

Through the years Kuakini has kept pace with the communitys demand for quality health care The hospital was renamed Kuakini Medical Center in 1975 to reflect its expanded programs to the community and in celebration of its 75th anniversary Kuakini has the distinct honor of being the last surviving hospital established by Japanese immigrants in the United StatesToday Kuakini Medical Center is committed to providing quality health care to the community through a wide range of comprehensive services and programs These programs and services are available to everyone regardless of ethnicity sex physical disability age religious affiliation or ability to pay

Kuakini is a 250bed acute care hospital accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and licensed to operate in the State of Hawaii Kuakini is certified to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs and is a community teaching hospital affiliated with the family practice medical surgical and transitional residency programs and geriatric fellowship program at the University of Hawaii UH School of Medicine Kuakini also carries affiliations with registered nurse and licensed practical nurse training programs with the UH School of Nursing and community colleges and Hawaii Pacific University and allied health professional training programs at the community colleges

Kuakini Medical Plaza an eightstory physicians office building next to the Medical Center was completed in 1979 to provide a medical facility that enables doctors to be near their hospitalized patients An 834car parking facility was completed in 1979 to accommodate patients visitors and employees

In March 1980 Kuakini dedicated its Hale Pulama Mau House of Cherishing Care building Acute medicalsurgical services as well as geriatric care services are provided within Hale Pulama Mau A helipad atop this facility is used to receive emergency cases transported by helicopter A second physicians office building the Kuakini Physicians Tower and a new parking facility for employees were completed in 1998

Kuakini Health System heads into the 21st century as a leader in Digital Imaging and as one of Hawaiis pioneers in the field of telemedicine

Kuakini Medical Center is a nonprofit subsidiary of Kuakini Health System whose mission is to improve the health status of the community by providing comprehensive health care at reasonable cost to the public continuously improving the quality of health care services and programs encouraging clinical research support training and educational programs for health care personnel and offering health education and community service programs