After years of defying doubters and rallying community support, Joe Pluta of the West Maui Improvement Foundation has a hospital in the making.
The project became more of a possibility when he was able to forge a partnership with financier Brian Hoyle, president of the Newport Hospital Corp. Hoyle is the lead investor who filed a state certificate of need application to build a 25-bed critical access hospital on the west side.
"We have no doubt lives will be saved if we can build our West Maui hospital," Pluta said following the CON application filing in February. The project's paperwork is still under review and will undergo public scrutiny and review by the State Health Planning and Development Agency.
Still, Pluta and Hoyle remain optimistic that their plans for a long-awaited facility will become a reality in the near future. Aside from filing the CON application, Pluta and Hoyle received county approvals for zoning and a community plan amendment.
Kaanapali Development Corp., which owns the property where the proposed hospital will be built, provided a land agreement extension, making it possible for the project to move through the state approval process.
In an interview with The Maui News in October, Hoyle said his critical access hospital will complement, not compete against, Maui Memorial Medical Center. "We've crafted something that is doable and financially viable."
