Affordable Public Health Access on Remote Island

To reach Lāna’i, Hawaii’s smallest publicly-accessible inhabited island, there are two options: a $200 roundtrip flight from Honolulu or a $60 ferry ride from Maui. For the 44% of the island’s population that live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, the only option for affordable on-island health care is the Lāna’i Community Health Center (LCHC). LCHC previously operated out of a converted three-bedroom home, unable to provide adequate healthcare to the remote island community. Missing services included obstetrics, mammography, psychiatry, inpatient substance abuse treatment, and oral health care. Typically, babies were born in Honolulu or Maui, and mothers-to-be relocated preterm to avoid endangering themselves or their babies.

In order to improve access in this remote rural community, CEI Capital Management LLC (CCML) utilized the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program to attract private capital to the project, constructing a 6,800 square foot health care facility built to LEED standards. The facility nearly doubles LCHC’s patient capacity, accommodating 1,846 patients annually. It includes nine exam rooms, dental x- ray machinery, two dental operatories, lab facilities, conference and administrative offices and a community activity room.

“CEI’s show of faith in our organization and our project was tremendous. This was a complicated project and it would have been easy to walk away, but CEI stayed involved, listened to the truth, and proceeded with our project. Mahalo nui loa, Maraming Salamat. We are forever grateful for CEI’s efforts and belief.” –Diane V. Shaw, PhD, MBA, MPH, FACMPE

Executive Director, LCHC