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The Queen’s Medical Center said it plans to purchase and renovate Hawaii Medical Center-West in Ewa for $73.2 million and reopen the shuttered acute-care hospital in August 2013.
Hawaii Medical Center-West closed in December, leaving residents of West Oahu with Pali Momi Medical Center in Aiea as the closest acute-care hospital. Without the HMC-West emergency room, ambulances have been forced to drive farther, and the island’s remaining emergency rooms have been overloaded with patients.
Queen’s had said earlier it was hoping to buy HMC-West but was still studying the details. In a public notice in the Star-Advertiser on Thursday, Queen’s confirmed it is buying the Ewa hospital.
Queen’s will pay $21.2 million for the land and building, the company said in a certificate of need application filed with the state Health Planning and Development Agency, which regulates health care projects and acquisitions. The company also earmarked $25 million for hospital renovations and another $27 million for equipment. Queen’s indicated it would pay $25.2 million in cash and finance the remaining $48 million.
Queen’s plans to hire approximately 400 employees to resume emergency room and hospital operations.
"Since the hospital closure in December 2011, over 25,000 emergency patients and 3,300 hospital inpatients annually are being forced to seek care outside of their community," Queen’s said.
In the first year of operations, Queen’s estimates net revenue of $65.8 million and expenses of $74.9 million, resulting in a net loss of $9.1 million. By the third year, net revenue is projected to be $78.7 million and expenses $83.1 million, leading to a net loss of $4.4 million. It expects positive operating results in the fifth year of operation.
Queen’s said HMC-West will do $50 million a year in charity care, uncompensated care or undercompensated care.
