Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the release of more than $3.7 million for improvements to Hilo Medical Center.

The capital improvement funds “represent an investment in Hilo Medical Center as an essential part of our public hospital system,” Abercrombie said Thursday in a news release. “As elements of the Affordable Care Act come online, we must continue to invest in our health care infrastructure to ensure that facilities are ready to provide access to quality health care for all the people of Hawaii.”

The Abercrombie administration has released more than $889.5 million for state construction projects to help stimulate the economy, the release said.

Hilo Medical Center projects to be covered by the appropriation include:

>> $1,052,000 to renovate the acute care unit, including improvements to bathrooms with leaky fixtures and cracked shower tiles, replacement of doors and sound-masking to reduce noise.

>> $728,000 to replace the medical center’s atrium walls and roof, which are leaking.

>> $650,000 to repair leaking roofs of the West Wing, Hospital Cottage and acute hospital.

>> $350,000 to replace chiller pipes used in the air-conditioning system.

>> $235,000 for parking lot improvements.

>> $233,000 to relocate utilities and demolish an old two-story building on the campus that has partially collapsed.

>> $200,000 to bring storage tanks into compliance with federal regulatory standards.

>> $134,000 to replace a chain-link fence with a higher masonry wall that will increase security for the behavioral health unit and give patients more privacy.