ARDA-Hawaii donates $4,000 to Kona Hospital Foundation to support care

A $4,000 gift from ARDA-Hawaii may not buy a new wing at Kona Community Hospital, but it can help pay for the kind of medical technology, staff education and facility improvements that shape care in Kealakekua every day. For the Kona Hospital Foundation, which exists to strengthen health care on Hawaii Island by supporting those needs, the donation is another small but concrete boost to a system that depends on steady community backing.

The contribution was announced May 23, 2026, as ARDA-Hawaii, the state’s timeshare industry trade organization, again aligned itself with one of West Hawaii’s most important health institutions. The hospital foundation says its work is aimed at improving Kona Community Hospital for the Big Island community by helping fund medical technology, expanded services and enhanced facilities that otherwise might not be available.

That support matters at a hospital with deep roots in the region. Kona Community Hospital is a 94-bed, full-service acute care hospital with 24-hour emergency services and a Level III trauma center serving West Hawaii. Its history dates to 1914 in Kealakekua, when the hospital first began serving the area. It moved to the historic County Courthouse in 1939 and opened at its current home in 1974. In a county where patients often travel long distances for specialty care, even modest donations can affect what is available close to home.

ARDA-Hawaii chairman Mithcell Imanaka led the organization’s latest contribution. He is also the managing principal of Imanaka Asato LLLC and has long been active in Hawaii’s real estate and timeshare sectors, placing him at the center of an industry that is using philanthropy to build public goodwill as well as local health capacity. The donation was presented alongside Kona Hospital Foundation Vice Chairperson Noella Callejo, board member Joanne Iwane, Executive Director Joei Feke and ARDA-Hawaii Hawaii Island representative Sidney Fuke.

The gift is not ARDA-Hawaii’s first. A similar $4,000 donation was announced March 21, 2024, with the money designated to support new medical technology and resources for staff and patients. The foundation has already shown how small-dollar gifts can turn into tangible improvements, including its Buy-a-Bed project, which funded 36 state-of-the-art patient-care beds at $7,800 each.

For Kona Community Hospital, the latest donation is less about ceremony than about continuity. It is another reminder that on Hawaii Island, the health system serving West Hawaii is being sustained not just by public institutions, but by local nonprofits and private partners willing to invest in the tools, training and facilities that keep care close to home.