A Century of Care for Hawai‘i's Women and Children

This is the story of two hospitals: Kauikeolani Children's Hospital and Kapi‘olani Maternity Home.

Concerned about the welfare of Hawai‘i's mothers, Queen Kapi‘olani held luau and bazaars to raise the $8,000 needed to open Kapi‘olani Maternity Home in 1890. She endowed her legacy with “Kulia i ka nu‘u” or “Strive for the highest.”

In 1908, Albert and Emma Kauikeolani Wilcox donated $50,000 to start a children's hospital. The community, concerned that two of every seven infants in Hawai‘i did not live to see their first birthday, rallied to match the Wilcox's gift. A year later, Kauikeolani Children's Hospital opened.

The two hospitals joined in 1978 to become Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children. Staying true to its mission, the non-profit hospital has played a vital role in the health of Hawai‘i's women, children and adolescents. It is staffed with highly skilled, compassionate physicians and nurses, dedicated to providing the finest care for Hawai‘i's families:

• Specially-trained physicians, nurses, staff and equipment that uniquely care for children, from infants to young adults.
• The state's only pediatric emergency room and pediatric intensive care unit.
• The highest level of neonatal intensive care, with specialists on-site 24/7 to care for babies at delivery, should the need arise.
• A major training facility for the University of Hawai‘i, John A. Burns School of Medicine's Pediatric and Ob/Gyn residency programs.
• The state's first Women's Center, offering an array of screening and therapy services to improve the health and well-being of Hawai‘i's women.
• The state's only Breast Center, offering screening, diagnostics and cancer treatment, all in a beautiful spa-like setting.
• The state's only Women's Cancer Center, for the prevention and treatment of gynecological cancers (ovarian, endometrial, cervical, vulva and vaginal cancers).