The Maui Memorial Medical Center has been awarded a $85,000 grant to support the formation of a network to improve health care integration on Maui.

“The beauty of their work is pure and so uplifting for our staff, patients and visitors,” said hospital communications director, Carol Clark. The works were created by elementary, intermediate and high school students as part of a contest hosted by the hospital.

The funds will be utilized by the hospital’s Hale Makua Health Services and Malama I Ke Ola Health Center to address the needs of the island’s aging population.

The Hawai’i Senate passed 197 measures on Tuesday, ahead of tomorrow’s Second Crossover deadline. A key measure that gained passage was House Bill 2145, which includes the Senate’s flagship initiative, known as “The Invest in Hawaii Act of 2012.”

“In a hospital, you can’t stop taking care of patients,” said MMMC CEO, Wesley Lo. “You don’t have the ability to go down.”

The equipment will be used for both in- and out-patient clients, as well as those enrolled in the Cardiac Outpatient Program. A $15,000 donation was used to purchase physical and occupational therapy equipment on Maui.

The funds include a $6.9 million appropriation for Department of Health facilities statewide, with partial funding for the Maui District Health Office, and the Wailuku Health Center on the Valley Isle.

Members of the Maui Canoe Club collaborated with a nurse at the Maui Memorial Medical Center to develop a CPR method that could be used within the confines of a canoe.

The new initiative eliminates tobacco use of any kind anywhere on the hospital campus, including vehicles on hospital grounds. Existing designated areas where patients and visitors were allowed to congregate in the past, will also be eliminated.

Maui Senators say the bill will stimulate the economy and enable the state to generate or sustain more than 5,000 jobs. Here on Maui more than 50% of unionized carpenters are on the bench.