Hawaii Island Community Health Center launches foundation to expand care access

Hawaii Island Community Health Center has launched a new charitable arm aimed at the practical barriers that can keep Big Island patients from getting care in the first place, including transportation, childcare and clinic environments that feel welcoming enough for people to return.

The Hawaii Island Community Health Foundation is the center’s philanthropic partner, created to strengthen healthcare access, support patients and families, and invest in the long-term health of island communities. Richard Taaffe, the center’s chief executive, said the new foundation is meant to be an investment in the island’s health and resilience, giving donors and community partners a dedicated place to direct help that insurance reimbursement and grants often do not cover.

Lauren Whittemore, a licensed social worker who previously led the center’s Street Medicine program, is directing the foundation. Her background ties the new effort closely to outreach work already happening outside the walls of the clinic, where the center has tried to reach people facing homelessness, transportation problems and other barriers to treatment.

The health center says it employs nearly 500 staff members and serves more than 40,000 residents across Hawaii Island with an operating budget close to $50 million. Victoria Hanes, the center’s chief operating officer, has described the organization as a major local provider with nearly 500 professionals delivering primary care to about 40,000 people islandwide. That scale has made the center a central piece of the county’s care network, but its leaders say the foundation is needed to address needs that do not fit neatly into insurance billing.

The foundation’s first priorities are a Patient Transportation Fund, a Keiki Support Fund to help health care staff with childcare costs, and an Art is Healing initiative designed to improve clinic spaces through artwork and cultural connection. Those early programs point directly to the gap the foundation is meant to fill: a patient may have coverage for an exam, but still miss the appointment because a ride is unavailable, a child has nowhere to go, or the clinic experience itself feels too clinical to invite follow-up care.

The center has already been widening its reach in concrete ways. Its Street Medicine program became full-time in 2023 and was reported in 2024 to be doing regular outreach in Hilo, Puna, Ocean View and Kona with vehicles stocked with basic medical supplies for primary care, wound care, vaccinations and referrals. It also launched a mobile health clinic for public and charter schools in 2025 through its Gateway to Health project, backed by $550,000 in grant funding from Ohana Health Plan and the Centene Foundation over two years.

Longer term, the foundation is expected to support expansion into rural communities, new technology and facility improvements. A 2025 legislative report said a bill under consideration could help the center expand to about 55,000 patients a year, a sign of how quickly the need for accessible care is growing across Hawaii Island.