Oprah Winfrey blesses new CT scanner she helped fund in Hawaii
Celebrity billionaire Oprah Winfrey recently blessed a newly installed CT scanner helped fund at a hospital in Hawaii.
Maui Memorial Medical Center, a 214-bed acute care hospital in Wailuku, celebrated the new computed tomography machine with its imaging team on June 8. As part of the celebration, local resident Kahu Kimokeo “blessed” the new scanner and the technologists who will operate it, “honoring the skill, trust and compassion they bring to every patient interaction.”
Maui Health said in a June 12 announcement that the new CT machine will provide faster, more detailed imaging to Hawaiians. With the installation, the hospital system hopes to help radiologists diagnose diseases earlier and with more accuracy while “strengthening access to high quality care for patients across Maui County.”
“Mahalo nui loa [thank you very much] to Oprah and her team for their generosity and genuine care for the people of Maui,” Maui Health said in an announcement June 12. “We are deeply grateful for this investment in the health and well-being of our people and for the opportunity to mark this important milestone together.”
Originally from Chicago Winfrey, also a producer, actress, author and media mogul, has a part-time residence in Maui, in addition to her main residence in Montecito, California.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.