Oahu has the most number of hospitals in Hawaii and probably has the best access to health and hospital care in the state, considering the number of hospitals available. At the time of writing, there are 3 hospitals in Maui, 1 in Kauai, and 3 in the big island of Hawai'i, compared to 10 in Oahu alone.
Historically, Hawaii became the first state to require employers to provide employee health benefits. And now, Hawaiians are some of the healthiest in America, and the state's healthcare costs are among the lowest in the country.
Several hospitals in Oahu have received a Gold ranking for stroke care, for example, such as Kailua’s Castle Medical Center and Pali Momi Medical Center in Aiea, meaning these hospitals follow treatment guidelines at least 85 percent of the time and have maintained standards for 12 consecutive months. While Pali Momi Medical Center and The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu earned a Gold Plus ranking—which honors an additional 75 percent compliance with module specific quality measures.
So if it's for typical hospital care, there is no need to fly back to the mainland.
Here is some data compiling Queen's Medical Center's patient ratings, and see how it compares to state and national scores:
Hospital Ratings: Patient Experiences |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Patients who said their nurses "Always" communicated well |
74 |
70 |
76 |
Patients who said their doctors "Always" communicated well |
79 |
77 |
80 |
Patients who said they "Always" received help as soon as desired |
59 |
57 |
64 |
Patients who said their pain was "Always" well controlled |
68 |
64 |
69 |
Patients who said staff "Always" explained medicines before administering |
59 |
58 |
60 |
Patients who said their room and bathroom were "Always" cleans |
67 |
69 |
71 |
Patients who said the area around their room was "Always" quiet at night |
50 |
51 |
58 |
Patients who said they were told what to do during their recovery at home |
20 |
22 |
81 |
Patients who rated the hospital a 9 or 10 on a scale from 0 (lowest) to 10 (highest) |
75 |
59 |
67 |
Patients who said they would definitely recommend the hospital |
81 |
63 |
69 |
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Hospital Ratings: Medical Imaging |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Outpatients with low back pain who had an MRI without trying recommended treatments first, such as physical therapy. (If a number is high, it may mean the facility is doing too many unnecessary MRIs for low back pain.) |
27 |
30 |
33 |
Outpatients who had a follow-up mammogram or ultrasound within 45 days after a screening mammogram. (A number that is much lower than 8% may mean there's not enough follow-up. A number much higher than 14% may mean there's too much unnecessary follow-up.) |
5 |
9 |
8 |
Outpatient CT scans of the chest that were "combination" (double) scans. (The range for this measure is 0 to 1. A number very close to 1 may mean that too many patients are being given a double scan when a single scan is sufficient.) |
0.003 |
0.012 |
0.054 |
Outpatient CT scans of the abdomen that were "combination" (double) scans. (The range for this measure is 0 to 1. A number very close to 1 may mean that too many patients are being given a double scan when a single scan is sufficient.) |
0.09 |
0.114 |
0.191 |
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|
Hospital Ratings: Care Results |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Death Rate for Heart Attack Patients |
11.6 |
13.283 |
16.2 |
Death Rate for Heart Failure Patients |
9.8 |
8.808 |
11.2 |
Death Rate for Pneumonia Patients |
7.9 |
9.431 |
11.6 |
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|
|
Hospital Ratings: Readmission Rates |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Rate of Readmission for Heart Attack Patients |
16.6 |
16.64 |
19.9 |
Rate of Readmission for Heart Failure Patients |
20.4 |
20.892 |
24.7 |
Rate of Readmission for Pneumonia Patients |
14.8 |
14.45 |
18.3 |
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|
|
|
Hospital Ratings: Process of Care |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Outpatients having surgery who got an antibiotic within one hour before surgery (higher numbers are better) |
98 |
8 |
92 |
Outpatients having surgery who got the right kind of antibiotic (higher numbers are better) |
99 |
154 |
94 |
Surgery patients who were taking heart drugs called beta blockers before coming to the hospital, who were kept on the beta blockers during the period just before and after their surgery |
89 |
N/A |
92 |
Surgery patients who were given an antibiotic within one hour before surgery to help prevent infection |
98 |
97 |
96 |
Surgery patients who were given the right kind of antibiotic to help prevent infection |
98 |
98 |
97 |
Surgery patients whose preventive antibiotics were stopped within 24 hours after surgery |
92 |
90 |
94 |
Heart surgery patients whose blood sugar is kept under good control in the days right after surgery |
95 |
89 |
93 |
Surgery patients needing hair removed from the surgical area before surgery, who had hair removed using a safe method |
100 |
99 |
99 |
Surgery patients whose urinary catheters were removed on the first or second day after surgery |
93 |
90 |
N/A |
Surgery patients whose doctors ordered treatments to prevent blood clots after certain types of surgeries |
98 |
87 |
94 |
Patients who got treatment within 24 hours before or after their surgery to help prevent blood clots after certain types of surgery |
97 |
85 |
92 |
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|
|
|
Hospital Ratings: Heart Attack & Chest Pain Care |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Average number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who needed specialized care were transferred to another hospital (a lower number of minutes is better) |
N/A |
154 |
62 |
Average number of minutes before outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack got an ECG (a lower number of minutes is better) |
N/A |
8 |
9 |
Outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who got drugs to break up blood clots within 30 minutes of arrival (higher numbers are better) |
N/A |
58 |
54 |
Outpatients with chest pain or possible heart attack who got aspirin within 24 hours of arrival (higher numbers are better) |
N/A |
96 |
95 |
Heart Attack Patients Given Aspirin at Arrival |
100 |
98 |
98 |
Heart Attack Patients Given Aspirin at Discharge |
100 |
97 |
98 |
Heart Attack Patients Given ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD) |
98 |
92 |
96 |
Heart Attack Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling |
99 |
98 |
99 |
Heart Attack Patients Given Beta Blocker at Discharge |
99 |
98 |
98 |
Heart Attack Patients Given Fibrinolytic Medication Within 30 Minutes Of Arrival |
N/A |
33 |
54 |
Heart Attack Patients Given PCI Within 90 Minutes Of Arrival |
92 |
81 |
89 |
|
|
|
|
Hospital Ratings: Heart Failure Care |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Heart Failure Patients Given Discharge Instructions |
93 |
84 |
87 |
Heart Failure Patients Given an Evaluation of Left Ventricular Systolic (LVS) Function |
100 |
96 |
98 |
Heart Failure Patients Given ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD) |
100 |
94 |
94 |
Heart Failure Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling |
99 |
97 |
98 |
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|
|
|
Hospital Ratings: Pneumonia Care |
This Hospital |
State Average |
National Average |
Pneumonia Patients Assessed and Given Pneumococcal Vaccination |
84 |
85 |
92 |
Pneumonia Patients Whose Initial Emergency Room Blood Culture Was Performed Prior To The Administration Of The First Hospital Dose Of Antibiotics |
91 |
94 |
95 |
Pneumonia Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling |
100 |
95 |
97 |
Pneumonia Patients Given Initial Antibiotic(s) within 6 Hours After Arrival |
95 |
97 |
95 |
Pneumonia Patients Given the Most Appropriate Initial Antibiotic(s) |
94 |
90 |
91 |