Recognizing gaps in healthcare coverage on the West Side and the long distance across the Pali to Maui Memorial Medical Center, West Maui residents have wanted a hospital in this region for decades.

Their goal is in sight, with the West Maui Hospital and Medical Center slated to open in 2016.

To help raise the initial operating capital reserves required for the new facility, the West Maui Hospital Foundation Inc. last week announced plans for a fundraiser called “The West Maui Hospital Train is Moving… All Aboard.”

The aloha attire benefit scheduled for Saturday, March 14, at The Westin Maui Resort & Spa in Kaanapali will feature keynote speaker Mayor Alan Arakawa and the opportunity to meet the West Maui Hospital Development Team.

After a silent auction and cocktail hour from 6 to 7 p.m., a buffet dinner with live entertainment will follow from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $175 per person, and a variety of sponsorship packages are available ranging from $500 to $5,000.

The new hospital is proposed in Kaanapali on 14.99 acres on Kakaalaneo Road above Honoapiilani Highway. Plans call for a 25-bed critical access hospital with a 24-hour emergency room, three operating rooms, 24-hour pharmacy, laboratory, and radiology services in addition to a 40-bed skilled nursing facility, 40-unit assisted living facility, up to two 30,000-square-foot medical office buildings/clinics, and a future 40-bed drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.

The West Maui Hospital, skilled nursing, assisted living and medical office/clinic facilities are targeted to open in 2016.

The facility will be developed by Newport Hospital Corp., managed by Critical Access Healthcare LLC and operated by the West Maui Hospital Foundation Inc., whose key players include Brian H. Hoyle, Howard Hanzawa, Jo Anne Johnson-Winer and Dr. Alfred Arensdorf.

This hospital is literally a dream come true for many West Side residents and return visitors. Get on board and support it by visiting www.WestMauiHospitalFoundation.org.

The foundation is a Hawaii 501(c)(3) Public Charity (Tax Identification #46-2866782). Checks may be mailed to the West Maui Hospital Foundation Inc., c/o Bank of Hawaii, P.O. Box 31000, Honolulu, HI 96849-5710.