Bank of Hawaii Foundation President Donna Tanoue (far right) presented the $25,000 Bank of Hawaii Monty Richards Hawaii Community Award that will be shared among three organizations. The three women in the center are: Hilo Medical Center Executive Director Lori Rogers; Friends of the Future – CHI-HI Project Director Dr. Sneha Sood; and Kona Hospital Treasurer Reba Silva. Members of the selection committee included KTA Superstore President Barry Taniguchi (far left), BOH Senior Vice President and Hawaii Regional Manager Art Taniguchi, BOH Senior Vice President and Hawaii Island Manager Roberta Chu (back, center), and Herbert “Monty” Montague Richards, Jr. (Photo courtesy of Bank of Hawaii)

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Bank of Hawaii Foundation named Friends of the Future’s Hawaii Collaborative Health Initiative, Hilo Medical Center and Kona Hospital Foundation as the 2013 Bank of Hawaii Monty Richards Hawaii Island Community Award recipients.

* Friends of the Future received $5,000 to purchase simulation equipment to help train neonatal resuscitation team members at Kona Community Hospital and North Hawaii Community Hospital as part of its Hawaii Collaborative Health Initiative.

Friends of the Future was founded in 1991, and has been serving the community through more than 40 programs. One of these programs is the Hawaii Collaborative Health Initiative (or HI-CHI) that works to improve the accessibility and quality of health services for mothers and infants in rural areas of Hawaii. In Hawaii’s seven rural birthing hospitals HI-CHI trains hospital labor and delivery nurses and respiratory therapists to help them resuscitate compromised newborns until a pediatrician arrives.

* Hilo Medical Center received $10,000 to help renovate one of its semi-private patient care rooms as part of its “Adopt-A-Room” project.

Providing hospital services to the East Hawaii community for more than 114 years, their service area stretches for 100 miles, from Laupahoehoe to Pahala, and serves a population of roughly 110,000 people. A safety-net hospital that provides significant care to uninsured, underinsured and vulnerable populations, Hilo Medical Center saw almost 37,000 patients in its emergency department and admitted more than 9,000 patients last year.

* Kona Hospital Foundation received $10,000 to purchase a nephroscope and resectoscope, enabling more of Kona County Hospital’s urological patients to be treated on-site rather than being sent to other facilities, possibly even off-island.

Kona Hospital Foundation was established in 1984 to ensure that the medical needs of the West Hawaii region are met through its support of the Kona Community Hospital. The foundation funds medical technology, expanded services and enhanced facilities that would otherwise be unavailable. The hospital, which opened in Kealakekua in 1914, has been serving the community for 99 years.

The Bank of Hawaii Monty Richards Community Award was established in 2008 and supports Hawaii Island nonprofit organizations that demonstrate innovative approaches to help improve the quality of life on Hawaii Island.

The award was established in honor of Herbert “Monty” Montague Richards, Jr., a dedicated Hawaii Island community leader and former longtime board director for Bank of Hawaii.