Expanding space and services

The Queen’s Medical Center-West O‘ahu is in expansion mode, with the Emergency Department, the Cancer Center, and Kahi Mohala, Hawai‘i’s only freestanding, non-profit psychiatric hospital, set to benefit from increased space and services.

The Emergency Department (ED) at Queen’s West is the second busiest in the state, after Queen’s Punchbowl. The number of patients served there has risen an average of 6% each year, compared to the statewide rate of 1.5% per year.

The expansion, slated for completion in early 2029, will triple the size of the hospital’s current ED to 40,884 square feet. It will add 32 care spaces, including treatment and patient rooms, airborne infection isolation rooms, safe rooms for patients with behavioral health needs, and direct access to the CT scanner from the ambulance entry to expedite testing for stroke patients, plus 48 additional private rooms on the second and third floors of the facility.

“With the rising demand for health care services in West O‘ahu, our expanded ED will increase access to seamless lifesaving services to better serve our Central and West O‘ahu communities,” says Robin Kalohelani, senior vice president and CEO at Queen’s West and Queen’s Wahiawā. “We remain committed to the mission of our founders, Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV, to provide in perpetuity, quality health care services to improve the wellbeing of Native Hawaiians and all the people of Hawai‘i.”

Top left is Sondra Leiggi Brandon, VP of Patient Care, Behavioral Health. Below her is Robin Kalohelani, Senior VP and CEO at Queen’s West and Queen’s Wahiawa. Image on the right is Queen’s Kahi Mohala exterior. PHOTOS: THE QUEEN’S MEDICAL CENTER

In April, Queen’s Cancer Center at Queen’s Medical Center-West O‘ahu received a $5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, which will go toward a 2,500-square-foot expansion. An additional five infusion bays will allow for approximately 2,300 additional treatments per year, and six additional medical oncology exam rooms will accommodate approximately 9,600 additional patient visits per year. The project is currently in the design development phase.

“The Cancer Center expansion will allow us the ability to better serve our community, so patients are able to receive care closer to home,” says Kalohelani.

Since acquiring Kahi Mohala in October 2024, Queen’s West has offered the full spectrum of care for children and adolescents in psychiatry and behavioral health, including outpatient therapy, partial hospitalization, and emergent and acute care.

The facility is scheduled to undergo renovations to its infrastructure at the end of the year.

“Queen’s cares for the greatest number of patients with behavioral health conditions in the state since we have the only inpatient behavioral health departments,” says Sondra Leiggi Brandon, vice president, patient care, behavioral health. “The Queen’s West ED expansion is timely because some patients who need residential care may be able to bypass acute care services and be transferred directly to Queen’s Kahi Mohala.”

The Queen’s West Diabetes and Management Center’s multidisciplinary team of experts continues to offer prediabetes and diabetes education focusing on diet, exercise, weight and medication management.

In Hawai‘i, 134,100 adults—more than 10% of the population—live with diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association.

“Our approach includes new medications and technology, as well as fresh techniques and perspectives on managing Type 1, Type 2, and gestational diabetes,” says Kalohelani. “We have dietitians who can help with healthy eating choices and exercise plans, and APRNs who are certified in diabetes management. Our goal is to help patients achieve blood sugar control and live a healthy life.”