North Shore clinic receives USDA loan; scheduled to open Spring 2018

The Makana North Shore Urgent Care clinic in Princeville will receive a loan of about $1.1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to complete construction and help with operating costs.

“Makana Urgent Care Clinic will bring critical medical care to the North Shore community of Kauai and provide many added benefits including laboratory and X-ray services to local physicians,” said Makaala Kaaumoana, member of the Makana North Shore Urgent Care board of directors.

“As a nonprofit, the staff and board of directors are looking forward to being a partner, working together to take care of each other and our community.”

The clinic is scheduled to open in spring of 2018, along Hanalei Plantation Road.

“We are in the final stages of construction of the Makana North Shore Urgent Care — a much-needed medical facility on Kauai’s North Shore,” said Dr. Edward J Kimball, Makana Foundation president, in a news release. “This facility is being built with the support of generous private donations from the local community and through a USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Rural Development Loan.”

Kimball said the project will provide 24/7 urgent medical care, including X-ray and lab facilities, with care provided by a team of experienced, board-certified emergency physicians, nurse practitioners and nurses, to the North Shore’s rural and remote population on Kauai.

In May, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, worked with USDA leadership to expedite approval of the loan.

“Rural communities across Hawaii continue to face challenges in accessing health-care services,” Hirono said in the release. “This loan will help complete construction of the Makana North Shore Urgent Care Clinic and ensure that the clinic has the necessary resources to serve Kauai’s North Shore.”