May 19, 2009 – Hilo, Hawaii
VIDEO by David Corrigan

Hawaii Island Family Medicine, located at 45 Mohouli Street in Hilo, is open and ready to see new patients.

On Friday, local media were invited to take a look at the new facility and meet Dr. Lucy Bucci who has recently joined the clinic.

The clinic hopes to eventually be accredited as a rural residency program, helping to establish new doctors on the island and assisting Hawaii County’s ailing health care situation. It will also train doctors, and act as an education center for nursing and pharmacy students from the University of Hawaii – Hilo.

The clinic is being powered by a grassroots effort on the part of the nonprofit Hilo Medical Center Foundation. A state decision not to release $2.5 million for the residency program last year has left the foundation no alternative but raise the funds needed to operate the clinic themselves.

So far, the Hilo Medical Center Foundation has raised over $160,000, but still needs at least $1.5 million between now and mid-2012. To register as a new patient at the clinic, all 769-6100. If you would like to make a donation towards the Hilo Medical Center Foundation’s mission, call at 935-2957.

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