“It’s a new beginning for health care here on the island.”
That observation by billionaire philanthropist Marc Benioff — chairman, CEO and co-founder of the software company Salesforce —was made Wednesday during a groundbreaking ceremony to kick off an expansion of the newly named Hilo Benioff Medical Center that will include a new 19-bed intensive care unit and 36 additional hospital beds.
The project, to help alleviate Hawaii Island’s hospital bed shortage, has been made possible through a combination of public and private funding, including a $50 million gift from Benioff and his wife, Lynne. Tuesday’s groundbreaking included remarks by hospital leadership, government officials and community supporters.
“You are what got us to our dreams. And we’ve had these dreams for a very long time,” Gov. Josh Green, an emergency room physician who has worked in Big Island hospitals for more than two decades, told the Benioffs.
The Benioffs’ contribution to the expansion matched $50 million appropriated in 2023 by the state Legislature and released last month by Green.
“We fought hard to bring this funding to Hilo,” said state Sen. Lorraine Inouye of Hilo. “Our people deserve high-quality health care close to home. Today, we are kicking off this major construction project with the best of intentions for a healthier Hawaii Island.”
“Hilo Benioff Medical Center has been consistently growing its services to care for patients on island,” added state Rep. Mark Nakashima, who attended in a wheelchair after receiving a kidney transplant last year. “We know investing in Hilo’s hospital will provide an even higher quality of health care and improve community health.”
Green said he and Dan Brinkman, CEO of Hilo Benioff Medical Center, have long discussed what needed to be done to improve the quality of health care locally, especially for those in life-threatening situations.
“The word came in, during COVID, from Dan,” Green recalled, noting he was lieutenant governor at the time. “‘We have a plan. We can provide a lot of care, but we need a lot more to do here, and we have to expand.’ And so he laid out the plans for me, and said we’ve got about a $100 million project here that someday we ought be able to do.
“And then … miraculously, the election occurs, and we hear that this gentleman, Marc Benioff, is willing to help. So, I said, ‘Dan, I know you wanted to do some incremental things, because we have such need. But there’s this guy who said he will match whatever we do.
“Don’t just ask for $20 million, please.’”
After a belly laugh from the audience of about 100, Green turned to Benioff and said, “Sorry, Marc.”
According to Green, he told Benioff the project’s cost would be about $100 million and asked if he’d match a $50 million appropriation.
“He said, ‘OK, if it’s going to help people, we’re going to do it.’ That conversation lasted less than 10 seconds,” Green said, drawing applause.
“What people should know is that this gift and this commitment from leadership across this state means that people, when they need intensive care treatment, will not need to seek a transport” to Oahu, Green added. “That care will be right here, either over the mountain or just around the corner.”
Brinkman said the project “will improve health care on Hawaii Island for our family, friends and neighbors.”
“Expanding the hospital’s bed capacity will allow us to provide more services along with creating a better patient experience,” he said.
Green said the Benioffs also said they’d match $5 million in student loan forgiveness to help attract medical professionals to the island.
Mayor Mitch Roth praised the Benioffs quiet philanthropy over the years.
“During the last three years of our administration, we’ve had many donations from Lynne and from Marc,” Roth said. “And I’ve always wanted to be able to thank them publicly for all the things they’ve done for our island — whether we’re talking about COVID and testing people, or whether we’re talking about fire trucks, brush trucks, helicopters. And they’ve always said, ‘No, we don’t want to be known for what we’re doing.’
“I guess it’s known now.”
The 59-year-old Benioff described the hospital’s employees as “the folks who are doing the Lord’s work every single day.”
“You get up every day. You give everything you have to give people the most precious gift they have, which is their health,” he said. “Lynne and I are profoundly grateful to be a part of this community. … I fell in love with the land, the ‘aina. I fell in love with the aloha spirit. And Lynne and I have lived very quietly on the Big Island for a long time. We have no commercial presence here. We’re here because this island is our home. This is where we’ve chosen to raise our family.
“We know that this island, living here can have challenges. One of the biggest is health care. We all know that. Because when it goes wrong, it can go really wrong. And we know that together, we need to do what we can to improve access to quality health care for everyone who lives on this island. We know we need more infrastructure, more nurses, more doctors, more specialized care in areas especially like neurology and oncology.”
Benioff said a partnership HBMC is building with Straub Medical Center in Honolulu and the UCSF Benioff Medical Center in San Francisco will “link this trinity together so that we can have an extended family, an extended ‘ohana of care.”
“I have to tell you, I’ve never seen a project exactly of this kind,” he said. “And it’s not because I haven’t seen $100 million projects on the Big Island, because I have. But usually, they’re hotels or they’re telescopes or they’re other commercial activities. But this is unique. … This is a $100 million groundbreaking for a major expansion of this critical hospital that serves the people of this island. So, I’ve never seen anything like it.
“It’s an unprecedented investment in our local community that we so badly need. We’re expanding the safety net. This is where we’re going to save our parents’ lives, our kupuna. This is where our children will be born and will continue to be born.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.