Big Isle Mayor Harry Kim hospitalized with another heart attack

Mayor Harry Kim was resting and recuperating at Hilo Medical Center after being taken to the emergency room early Saturday morning with a mild heart attack, the county announced in a press release this morning.

The mayor said he had suffered discomfort and his wife called 911 for an ambulance, the press release said.

Kim was taken to the hospital early Friday, where he was diagnosed with a relapse of pneumonia and released.

“The doctor told me I can’t leave because he doesn’t trust me to rest,” the mayor said in the press release. “I’d fire him if I could.”

Kim has been at the helm of the ongoing response to the Puna eruption, and late Thursday night he was taking a look at the preparations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Recovery Center at the Kea’au High School gym. The facility opened its doors to offer individual assistance to the public on Friday morning.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of everybody in County, State and Federal agencies for getting the DRC up and running in less than a day,” Kim said.

He said he had worked closely with FEMA’s Deputy Federal Coordinating Officer Tom Fargione to make it happen.

“We swore to each other to make this DRC the best in the nation as far as coordination and comprehensiveness of services,” the mayor said.