GOVERNOR JOINS COMMUNITY LEADERS AT GROUNDBREAKING FOR SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN

August 7 - Governor Lingle attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Shriners Hospital for Children in Honolulu, where she thanked the hospital for serving the medical needs of those who need it most - Hawai`i's families and their children.

"People just want to help children, regardless of their background," the Governor said.  "Like Shriners, they want to be a beacon of hope," she added.

The new facility will be approximately 40 percent larger than the current facility, with three buildings that total 150,000 square-feet. The current Shriners Hospital hospital has an active patient base of approximately 7,000. Eighty percent of the patients are from Hawai`i and 20 percent are from across the Pacific.  Since the hospital was built in 1967, more than 25,000 children have received treatment.