Tuesday, Feb 15 2011 9:52AM
A Hawaii hospital is expanding its oncology services to treat residents of outlying communities.
Hawaii's Queen's Medical Center has received at $1.1 million federal grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration to allow the hospital to expand cancer care services to rural areas of the state.
QMC is currently the largest cancer treatment provider in Hawaii, servicing 40 percent of all cancer patients, more than 16 percent who reside on neighboring islands. The HRSA grant will allow the hospital's rural community assistance program to offer treatment services free of charge to oncology patients housed in rural hospitals on the islands of Maui, Molokai and Hawaii.
According to the hospital, the geographic isolation of many rural communities causes residents to forgo medical services, leading to health disparities among minorities such as Native Hawaiians, Filipinos and Pacific Islanders.
"Queen's remains committed to providing the highest quality of care to our cancer patients, and we continue to find ways to better serve the people of Hawaii in getting quality cancer care at home, even if they live in remote areas," said Debbie Ishihara-Wong, the director of the hospital's cancer center and oncology services.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service reports Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than non-Hispanic whites, with Native Hawaiian men experiencing the highest mortality rate due to the ailment in the state.