More than 4,000 people live in and around Volcano on Hawaiʻi Island, many of them older than 60, and for years they have lacked nearby primary care and emergency medical services. A proposed $15 million health clinic could bring primary care, urgent care and pharmacy services to the community. The clinic would rise on a 13.7-acre parcel along Volcano Road, directly across from Kilauea Lodge & Restaurant, according to a feasibility study presented to the community.
A Site, a Design and a Rough Timeline
The potential clinic would occupy about four acres of the larger parcel, with a roughly 10,000-square-foot, one-story building featuring a rust-red roof and wooden support beams, according to renderings created by Flemming and Associates, which also conducted the feasibility study. As described in the study, the facility would include eight exam rooms, four procedure rooms and a parking lot with 44 stalls, and it would offer primary care, urgent care and pharmacy services. Water access for the site would rely on a combination of catchment and water hauling, and a traffic study would still need to be conducted if the project moves forward, per the study's findings.
The push toward an actual building follows years of advocacy from Volcano residents, who have sought a local clinic for the rural community for years, according to Honolulu Star-Advertiser. That advocacy got a formal boost earlier this year when the state Legislature passed a resolution requesting that the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation's East Hawaii Region evaluate the project, a study that was initiated earlier in 2026, as reported by West Hawaii Today. The state Senate Health and Human Services Committee had already voted unanimously on March 30 to advance that resolution, per the Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
Community Turns Out in Force
The feasibility study's findings were presented at a public meeting in Volcano attended by more than 80 community members, where attendees expressed support for the proposed clinic. Community members at the meeting said residents currently have to travel to other towns for medical care, and one attendee said long travel distances contributed in part to recent family deaths. Volcano Community Association member Kathleen Mishina has previously described the drive from Volcano Village to downtown Hilo as taking 45 to 50 minutes on a good day, and over an hour during rush hour, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.
Ira Ono, president of the Volcano Health Collaborative — the nonprofit largely leading the push for the clinic — said he felt optimistic about the clinic's future. Ono has also pointed out that Volcano's population has been steadily increasing since 2000 and that the majority of residents are aging, a trend documented by West Hawaii Today. The Volcano Community Association's updated 2025 plan ranked health as the second highest priority among residents, underscoring how central the clinic has become to the town's wish list.
Landowner Support and a Timeline Stretching to 2030
The land itself is owned by W.H. Shipman Ltd., whose president, Peggy Farias, has expressed support for the clinic project and intends to sell one-third of the property to HHSC for the facility. The remaining portion of the property is largely forested and has no current development plans. Dan Brinkman, CEO of HHSC's East Hawaii Region — which also operates the Hilo Benioff Medical Center and conducted the underlying study — estimated the project would cost about $15 million and said community and legislative support could make a Volcano clinic a reality.
Design, planning, permitting and funding would take almost two years, and construction itself would likely take approximately 18 months, meaning the clinic project could take about four years from concept to construction completion. If funding is secured and plans proceed on that timeline, the clinic could be completed and ready to open around 2030. Brinkman said the project would likely require at least partial state funding, noting that the East Hawaii Region contributes to projects through its own operations and generated revenue but generally cannot build projects without taxpayer support. He urged residents to contact their elected representatives in support of the clinic, and community advocacy could also help increase the project's legislative priority and secure philanthropic donations.
How Volcano's Plan Fits a Broader Push
Volcano's clinic proposal arrives as rural health care funding is flowing elsewhere on the island. Hawaiʻi is set to receive $58 million in federal funding for rural health care through the Rural Health Transformation Program, including $45 million for workforce development administered by the University of Hawaiʻi John A. Burns School of Medicine and $13 million for the state Department of Health to buy new ambulances and upgrade emergency communications, according to Big Island Now. The state also released $50 million for planning and design work on a proposed 50,000-square-foot medical campus and outpatient care center in Kona, developed with The Queen's Health Systems. Meanwhile, Kaʻu Hospital's East Hawaii Health Clinic broke ground in December 2024 on a $9 million expansion planned to add five exam rooms to its existing four. The project was estimated to take 18 to 24 months, with completion expected in mid-2026, the Kaʻu Hospital said.
