Call it a rebirth of sorts for venerable Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children.

This is opening week for the center’s spiffy new addition, that modern glass-and-sienna-colored building at the top of the Punahou offramp and visible from the H-1 freeway. The new five-floor tower features new neonatal and pediatric intensive care units; and patients and families will surely appreciate the larger, private rooms that will allow more-comfortable overnight stays during difficult times.

The new facilities usher in a new era for the medical center, founded in 1978. It’s a safe bet, though, that the medical expertise and TLC provided will remain unchanged.

Sweeps needed; so is housing

The sidewalk sweeps that have become routine in urban Honolulu don’t solve the homelessness problem. Indeed, the “compassion- ate disruption” of city policy appears to relocate the encampments only temporarily.

Still, it’s a necessary exercise for the city, even with the expense. Not only do the streets and sidewalks need cleaning just for sanitation purposes, but there is a message that must be conveyed.

Living on the streets is not considered an option Honolulu simply accepts. If the encampments persist without disruption, then the message becomes: This is OK.

The community should want to help the homeless. But that means providing shelter and permanent homes, not looking the other way, enabling the problem to persist.