WAIMEA — Moving beyond the goal of creating cooperation and trust between Queens Health Systems, North Hawaii Community Hospital and the community since the affiliation became official in 2014, the hospital’s new president is now focusing on increasing and retaining as many North Hawaii patients as possible by providing the high level of quality care required.
Since starting her position on Aug.1, Cindy Kamikawa has also focused on improving accessibility to the complete Queen’s system when other services are needed.
One of now two female hospital presidents in the Queen’s system, Kamikawa wants to assure the community that the providers, nurses, physical therapists and others available here on the island can perform the full scope of care needed.
She brings more than 30 years of hands-on experience to the challenges of leading the hospital though its next phase of development. Kamikawa began her career with Queens as a staff nurse, rising through the years as a nurse manager, nurse director and then VP of nursing at the system level for past 13 years. In this role, in 2015 she started visiting NHCH and got to know multiple nurse leaders.
Beginning last April, Kamikawa spearheaded the effort for NHCH to gain reaccreditation from The Joint Commission. This was achieved in August, with a follow-up survey expected late this year as the final stage. Queen’s CEO Art Ushijima recognized that her deep awareness of the hospital’s developmental needs, coupled with her solid track record as an executive level administrator, would be an excellent fit to lead NHCH.
As a veteran of the Queen’s system, Kamikawa has utilized resources to support NHCH, bringing in experts in management development, physician recruiting and support for construction projects to the island.
She feels the Queens Health System’s five strategic dimensions apply well to NHCH’s needs. The first is superior quality care and performance, her main focus, which means being accountable and continuing to develop the structures and processes already in place. She also looks at the patient demographics, such as the rates of diabetes, heart disease and obesity, to be aware of the major health issues on the Big Island. Maintaining high standards and relying on evidence-based practices are critical to success in this realm, she says.
Her next goal is for the hospital to become North Hawaii’s provider of choice.
“(It) is about our physicians, advance practice nurses, certified midwives, and looking at the needs of the community and what providers we need to bring in to assure that we can provide that quality of health care,” she said.
To do so, Kamikawa said NHCH will continue to recruit and interview, as they have done successfully with new hires recently. One example is Dr. Natalie Kehau Kong, who was hired last month as a new primary care physician. Other high priorities will be filling needs in general surgery, obstetrics and pediatrics.
Another dimension is listening to employees — a very high, yet fundamental priority for Kamikawa. To hear directly from staff, she is on a quest presently to not only meet all 300-plus employees in their departments but also to truly connect with them and respond to their needs.
“What are their concerns, their issues?” she asked, in between visits to the rehab and housekeeping departments recently.
She also encourages staff to communicate anonymously via surveys.
“I’m a big believer in happy staff. Happy workplace means happy patients,” Kamikawa said.
She has also appreciated the vibrant community support she has felt during her first few months on the job.
“There’s truly that sense of ownership within the community and a commitment to the hospital’s success,” Kamikawa said.
Dr. Howard Wong, one of NHCH’s general surgeons, appreciates how patients don’t take their individualized care for granted.
“He likes practicing here because of the connection he has with his patients,” Kamikawa said.
Janet Crosier, director of rehabilitation at the hospital, said she has found their new president to be a thorough and thoughtful leader.
“Cindy has implemented hourly rounding by the nurses on the inpatient side to check the status of our patients in four important areas: pain, position, potty, and possessions, such as the call light and bedside tray,” she said. “Department heads are also rounding in their departments so that we can better connect with our patients.”
She continued, “Transitioning from a single community hospital to part of a geographically diverse hospital system requires many changes in leadership, policies and procedures, such as the electronic medical record system that was changed here recently.”
Kamikawa said she is keenly aware of the “big institution” reputation that can sometimes create inaccurate expectations among members of a smaller town initially and looks forward to demonstrating the Queens’ resources now available at NHCH as an asset to North Hawaii. Avoiding a cookie-cutter approach, she believes that it is ideal to customize resources to fit the unique needs of the community.
Kamikawa encourages residents with any significant concerns to share them with her directly, as changes begin to take place. She can be reached at 881-4400.