The Queen’s Medical Center is putting the final touches on its $100 million Ewa hospital, which will open May 20 and restore emergency services to West Oahu after a more than two-year absence.

Queen’s unveiled the 80-bed hospital Tuesday after completing testing of information technology systems and medical scenarios in anticipation of the first day of operations.

The facility, previously known as Hawaii Medical Center-West, closed in December 2011 as part of a lengthy and contentious bankruptcy. The shutdown left West Oahu residents with Pali Momi Medical Center in Aiea as the closest acute-care hospital and placed an immediate strain on the island’s emergency medical services. Ambulances were forced to drive farther, overloading the island’s remaining emergency rooms.

"When we did need medical attention, whether or not it was a life-threatening medical emergency, a lot of the times we had to weigh whether we should go to the ER or should not," said JoAnn Rabanes, 32, who lives in Nanakuli with her husband, Andrew, and 2-year-old daughter. "When we did go to the hospital (outside of West Oahu), it was already crowded, and it was hard to get medical attention.

"When (HMC-West) shut down it did a ripple effect on everything (on the west side). A lot of times there’s accidents in this area. It does make us feel safer knowing that if there’s a life-or-death situation, we have the right facilities and options to go to."

Queen’s has more than doubled emergency-room capacity to 23 beds from 10 and expanded clinical areas. About half of the 450 workers are from the West Oahu community, which has an estimated population of about 420,000.

Services will include the emergency room, inpatient and outpatient surgery, and imaging, cardiology and specialty clinics.

The hospital will not offer obstetrics or trauma services, but will have telemedicine capabilities linking to doctors at its main Punchbowl Street campus if someone has a stroke or other medical emergency. There will be at least four doctors in the hospital for emergency care at all times, said Whitney Limm, Queen’s senior vice president of clinical integration.

"That’s critically important for us to provide this high-quality, safe care," he said.

"What we have to do is be prepared … for any kind of cases that come in. One of the first things we heard when we came to the community is, ‘We need doctors, we need specialists.’ If there’s any need for emergency care, this is going to be the first stop."

For Makakilo resident Edel Guillen-Cabo, a registered nurse at Queen’s downtown since 2002 who transferred to the West Oahu campus, it will mean a safer community and better quality of life.

"It took me as long as hour and a half (to drive to work). Now it takes eight to 10 minutes," she said. "I can join my kids for dinner and actually even pick them up at the family house in the evening. I can sleep a little more. I’m happier."

As part of the bankruptcy, the Ewa hospital was returned to St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawaii, which established the hospital in 1990. Queen’s acquired the facility in December 2012 and estimated at the time that it would invest more than $70 million in the land and hospital acquisition.

Susan Murray, chief operating officer for the West Oahu campus, said the hospital invested more than expected in plumbing, wiring, building a new elevator and roof, a bus turnaround and overall technology costs.

And Queen’s may end up investing more money as the community grows. The hospital has the capacity to increase the number of beds to more than 130.

"As the needs of the community grow, we’ll grow right along with it," she said. "Our partners in health in this community are thrilled that we will be opening, because their ER departments have been overburdened and the length of time getting from (West Oahu) all the way into town is really an extensive distance. It can really add 30 minutes if you had to go past this site. Time is health, so when you urgently need care, the sooner you get to that care, the better."