Hilo Medical Center

Hilo Medical Center’s (HMC) roots are embedded in the Hawaiian territorial era. In the 1890’s the earliest vestige of the hospital was the Tuberculosis Center whose raison d’etre disappeared with the development and spread of modern antibiotics. The current hospital is a Level III Trauma Center and a Primary Stroke Center. Its Emergency Department is the 2nd busiest in the state, serving more than 50,000 patients annually. HMC has approximately 1100 employees, of which there are 250 community physicians, physician assistants and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses representing 33 specialities.

Hilo is located on the Big Island, (Hawaii Island) which is not the ‘main’ island where Honolulu is located (O’ahu Island). Hilo is known for much rain, lush rainforests and a lack of long stretches of beaches. Hilo Medical Center is located just above Hilo town on Waianuenue Avenue (waianuenue meaning rainbow in Hawaiian). It is a very short walk from Hilo Medical Center to Rainbow Falls Park which has one of the Big Island’s most easily accessible waterfalls. Visiting on a sunny morning, rainbows appear above the 80 foot waterfalls that drop over a natural lava cave into the Wailuku River. The river descends through lush forests as it makes its way into the Pacific, frequently with rapids, under the “Singing Bridge”. Hilo may not be the usual paradise spot that you’ve got in mind when you think “Hawaii” but most would agree that this little town is a must-visit gem.