Nonprofit North Shore Give delivers ultrasound machine to Kauaʻi’s rural urgent care

With no hospitals and only one urgent care clinic on Kauaʻi’s remote North Shore, residents have long faced challenges in accessing timely medical imaging and specialized care.

But that now will change. On Tuesday, the nonprofit North Shore Give presented a new ultrasound machine to Makana North Shore Urgent Care in Princeville, with funding entirely from community donations.

The donation of the $75,000 — for the life-saving equipment and specialized training on it for the urgent care staff — marks the first milestone in the nonprofit’s five-year ‘Gift of Health’ campaign, which was launched in 2024 and will continue through 2030.

The goal of the initiative is to provide the urgent care facility with one new piece of essential medical equipment each year for five years.

“With no hospital on the North Shore and only one urgent care, expanding medical services at the Makana North Shore Urgent Care is vital for our community,” said Maylette Garces,
executive director of North Shore Give.

She said the initiative is helping bring medical care closer to home for North Shore residents.

Attendess of the presentation of the ultrasound machine including Kaua’i Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, Kaua’i County councilmembers, North Shore Give board members and Makana Urgent Care staff, including Sabrina Haas, director of internal medicine and infectious disease physician.

“We are very gratious that the North Shore Give was able to get the funding to present us with this gift,” Haas said. “But to me it’s not just about the machine but the gift of education. Being able to train our staff and provide these services, whether you’re in Haʻena or Wainiha, we are the first stop, so now we can triage and get them to where we need them to be.”

Lia Kopesky, a Medical Assistant at Makana Urgent Care, will travel to San Francisco on Wednesday to attend ultrasound training. This will enable her to better support providers in using the equipment.

She is one of three healthcare members at Makana Urgent Care whose flights, accommodations, and training are also supported and funded by donations made by the North Shore Give organization.

“I’m very excited to get some hands-on experience, fly back in so that it can send me in the right direction,” Kopesky said. “It’s great that we can have more follow-up with our patients, and it’s also important for people who don’t have transportation to the east side.”

Kawakami presented a proclamation to North Shore Give President Stefan Swanepoel.

The mayor said he was quite familiar with the importance of ultrasound machines having experienced “two torn biceps, four hernia surgeries, a torn hamstring, multiple dislocated shoulders, three concussions and possibly a torn meniscus.”

Kawakami said: “My mom would say, when you give, you give unconditionally. When you love, you love unconditionally, no strings attached. Be authentic, come from the heart, and give without any expectation, and you will always be fulfilled.”

He said without organizations like North Shore Give, many people would fall through the cracks.

“You folks truly represent the safety net; you folks are the parachute for many of our community members,” Kawakami said.

Matthew Schaller, architect for the Princeville Shopping Center, Makai Clubhouse, Princeville Community Center and the Makana North Shore Urgent Care, said: “I had the opportunity to work on this building. It’s done a great service here in the community, and I am glad that I could help them out.

“It’s nice to see the use, as an architect, when you do public buildings, you like to see them get good use,” he said.

Stefan Swanepole, President of the North Shore Give, added, “The character of a community is defined by the quality of its people and the goodwill they extend in giving selflessly for the betterment of all.”

Future fundraising goals through the ‘Gift of Health’ initiative will focus on acquiring additional diagnostic and life-support tools tailored to the clinic’s needs, with the aim of reducing geographic and logistical barriers to quality care.

For more information on the North Shore Give initiatives, events, or to volunteer, click here.