Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital named in Top 20 critical access hospitals nationally

Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital in Kapa‘a, a facility of Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation – Kaua‘i Region, was recently named as one of the top 20 critical access hospitals for quality performance in the United States by the National Rural Health Association.

Critical access hospitals are rural hospitals with 25 or fewer acute care beds who receive financial assistance through the Medicare program.

“We are proud of our providers and staff who have contributed to our hospital achieving this distinction,” said Lance K. Segawa, Regional CEO of HHSC-Kaua`i Region. “We’ve worked hard to become a premier healthcare organization that our community can count on to deliver excellent care.”

The hospital earned this designation by implementing quality improvement initiatives focused on customer service training for managers and staff; training on high-performance principles; facility renovations; and creating positive patient and long-term care resident experiences.

Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital scored top among critical access hospitals nationwide based on a composite rating in inpatient and outpatient market share, quality, outcomes, patient satisfaction, cost, charge, and finances.

Founded in 1917, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital is the first hospital on Kaua‘i. Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital has approximately 200 employees, 66 long-term care beds, nine behavioral health beds, and five acute care medical beds.

Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital provides 24-hour emergency services staffed with Board certified Emergency physicians; adult in-patient behavioral health; medical and skilled nursing care; long-term care; imaging; occupational therapy; physical therapy; speech therapy; and social services.

HHSC is a public entity established in 1996 by the State of Hawai‘i. HHSC – Kaua‘i Region operates Kaua‘i Veterans Memorial Hospital, Samuel Mahelona Memorial Hospital and Kaua‘i Region Clinics. The Kaua‘i Region manages 125 licensed healthcare beds and employs more than 500 employees.