Islands Hospice to Expand Service to Maui

Islands Hospice logo. Courtesy photo.

By Wendy Osher

Islands Hospice, a nonprofit provider of hospice care in Hawaiʻi, announced the receipt of a Certificate of Need from the State Health Planning and Development Agency to begin operations on the island of Maui.

Executives say the service will increase access to end-of-life care on the island and help meet the need for hospice inpatient beds.

“While Oʻahu and the Big Island of Hawaiʻi have several inpatient hospice beds, Maui has no such option,” said agency officials in a press release.

Islands Hospice is a different organization from Hospice Maui, located in Wailuku across from the Maui Memorial Medical Center. While both are non-profits and provide hospice care, Islands Hospice seeks to offer inpatient service. Hospice Maui, meantime, provides in-home service with specialists tending to patients in the comfort of their home, the organization website states.

The Islands Hospice facility is planned for placement in central Maui, with hiring efforts to begin in the fall.

Islands Hospice Chief Executive Officer Michael Duick, M.D., shared his vision in a statement saying, “We look forward to bringing our care and compassion to Maui. Having personally practiced medicine on Maui, I am acutely aware of the need for increased access to end-of-life care there.”

Organization officials say they will be scheduling job fairs soon.