West Maui needs you NOW!
Since 2016, the non-profit West Maui Hospital Foundation (WMHF) has had a fully entitled and ready to build West Maui Hospital site on Kakaalaneo Drive just off the Honoapiilani Highway in Kaanapali - just 5 miles North of the center of historic Lahaina Town. Most of the basic groundwork has already been completed with more than $20,000,000 provided to date by Newport Hospital Corporation toward the site acquisition, entitlements and infrastructure needed for the West Maui Hospital. We were moving forward and encouraged with community and county support just prior to the unfolding tragedy which destroyed our beloved Lahaina Town.
It is a continuing tragedy if our West Maui Hospital which will include 24 hour ER care, pharmacy, medical services as well other critical healthcare supplies and services remains out of reach for those in need. With the destruction of Kaiser and Maui Medical Group facilities the only care people are receiving is from mobile units and the Health Center at Lahaina Civic Center. West Maui Hospital is more urgently needed than ever before.
Despite having received a $20,000,000 Special Purpose Revenue Bond there is really no way to access those funds rapidly. Also the County of Maui was poised to pass legislation as a guarantor of the bond and that is on hold due to the crisis we are facing. With our application for a $20,000,000 USDA loan pending a lengthy approval process we are at a complete standstill.
It is unlikely that we will be able to get funding from governmental sources anytime soon. Time is something we cannot afford to waste. I know first hand as I packed up my car with my cat supplies and a few essential items after being told to evacuate. As I was watching the glow of flames approaching and heard the explosions of gas tanks from cars or propane tanks I thought of what was really important in my life. It was not the material things and it was not the possible loss of my home - instead it was a fervent prayer that no loss of life would occur and that all of my friends would be OK.
As the former County Councilmember for West Maui how could I have let this happen? I am deeply saddened that I failed my community by not working harder to get the hospital built. I will have to live with those regrets but I know that my two husbands who are buried here on Maui always told me to NEVER GIVE UP. I cannot give up and as I fight back tears while writing this I am making a heartfelt plea to anyone who can help our cause and our community to contribute to the completion of our West Maui Hospital. Our immediate need is for $3,000,000 to keep things moving but the remainder is roughly 60 million if we use our original plans for a 25 bed critical access hospital.
Please know that we will survive this horrific disaster, but life as we know it will never be the same in West Maui. Many of my friends who have lost everything told me they are more dedicated than ever to helping me with the efforts to get the West Maui Hospital built. Please help us to help others.
God Bless our Beloved Lahaina and may those who perished know that they will live on in our hearts and prayers as we move forward in service to our community.
As my husband Rabbi Larry Winer said at every celebration of life “May their memory be for a Blessing.”
~Jo Anne Johnson Winer, Current West Maui Hospital Foundation Vice President and Board member of West Maui Hospital Foundation.