A relaxing massage… sunset sail along the West Maui coast… dinner prepared by a Hawaii celebrity chef.

With area businesses stepping up to help, it’s become really easy to support the West Maui Hospital & Medical Center.

Visit Maui Zen Day Spa for massage or wellness services on Saturdays through June 30, and they will donate 10 percent of sales to West Maui Improvement Foundation (WMIF) to help cover ongoing administrative costs for the hospital. Call 661-7200 to make an appointment.

Scotch Mist Sailing Charters joined the grassroots fund-raising campaign this month by pledging to donate 10 percent of each ticket purchased on Scotch Mist II to WMIF’s Hospital Development Fund through June 30. To sign up for a sail on this speedy Santa Cruz 50 sailing yacht, call Capt. Gene Perkins at 357-1402.

And last week, David Paul’s Island Grill announced that it will host the West Maui Hospital & Medical Center Gala on Saturday, July 4, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The benefit will feature live entertainment, souvenir pictures by Media Systems, door prizes, hors d’oeuvres, satellite bars, cocktails and food stations in Chef David Paul Johnson’s brand new 900 Front St. restaurant.

“Enjoy an evening with family and friends and a
great view of the annual Lahaina fireworks show," noted Joe Pluta of WMIF, the nonprofit group that set the stage for the Lahaina hospital.

The July 4 gala is for guests 21 and up; space is limited. Tickets are $125 by June 24 and $150 after.

Register by July 1 by calling 661-7990 or e-mailing jdp@maui.net.

Developer Brian Hoyle of Newport Hospital Corp. plans to build the $45,750,000 medical center near Lahaina Civic Center on a nearly 15-acre tract donated by Kaanapali Land Management Corp.

Plans call for a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital, 40-bed skilled nursing facility, 40-bed assisted living facility and 30,000-square-foot medical office clinic.

The project will establish a greatly needed 24-hour emergency room and community hospital for the remote West Side’s 70,000 residents and visitors.

If future tasks are met on schedule, construction will begin in June 2010, staff will be hired in March 2011 and the grand opening for the West Maui Hospital and Medical Center will be held in March 2012!

For more information on the project, visit www.WestMauiHospital.org.

The West Maui Hospital is approved and moving forward. Support these West Side companies and help WMIF down the final stretch.