HILO, Hawaii: Hilo Medical Center has just issued a press release on the hospital’s new Long Term Care and Rehabilitation Services Director Teana Kaho’ohanohano.

Teana M. N. Kaho’ohanohano, courtesy HMC

Hilo Medical Center announces the appointment of Teana M. N. Kaho’ohanohano to the newly created position of Long Term Care and Rehabilitation Services Director. Kaho’ohanohano will oversee the operations of HMC’s Extended Care Department, consisting of its long term care facility and Med/Surg Unit, as well as the hospital’s Rehabilitation Services, encompassing physical, speech, and occupational therapies.

“I welcome Ms. Kaho’ohanohano’s proven talents in improving quality of care and quality of life for long term care residents,” said Howard N. Ainsley, East Hawaii Regional CEO of Hawaii Health Systems Corporation. “Her style of leadership will have positive impact on guiding HMC’s staff in long term care and Rehabilitation Services.

Previously, Kaho’ohanohano served as Administrator of the 95-bed Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home during the last year. In this position, she has worked diligently to improve the quality of care provided to residents. Kaho’ohanohano recently led the facility through very successful State, Federal, and Veteran’s Administration surveys.

Her tenure at Yukio Okutsu followed positions as Administrator and Administrator-in-Training with Westgate Manor in Madera , CA , and through several buildings operated by Avalon Health Care, Inc., her employer since 2007. While Administrator of Westgate, she led her team through a Title 22 Federal survey, which resulted in an impressive zero deficiency outcome.

Having grown up on Maui, Kaho’ohanohano returned to Hawaii with her family to assume the leadership of Yukio Okutsu in 2011. She holds a Masters Degree in Health Policy & Administration from Washington State University , and a Bachelors Degree in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from the University of Southern California .

As the Big Island ’s leading provider of inpatient and outpatient care, Hilo Medical Center (HMC) provides a full range of services and programs to more than 8,800 patients each year. The hospital, with nearly 1,200 employees and more than 250 physicians representing 33 specialties, is comprised of a 265-bed acute care hospital, Hale Ho’ola Behavior Health Center , a long-term care residential treatment center, and a network of eight outpatient clinics. The hospital’s Level III Trauma Center is the second busiest emergency room in the state and servers more than 40,000 patients annually. The recipient of Mountain Pacific Quality Health’s Quality Achievement Award for the last two years, HMC seeks to continually exceed national benchmarks for quality care and customer service. In 2012, HMC was recognized by the insurer HMSA as Hawaii ’s leading hospital in improving quality and reducing the cost of providing care.

HMC is part of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, a public corporation established in 1996 by the State of Hawaii to fulfill the promise to provide quality, hometown healthcare. For more information, go to: http://www.hmc.hhsc.org.