The imminent opening of The Queen’s Medical Center-Wahiawa’s new Emergency Department will bring considerable relief to residents of Wahiawa, Central Oahu and the North Shore. The former Wahiawa General Hospital is the area’s nearest emergency department — and after Queen’s acquired the aging facility last month, it addressed HVAC system problems and upgraded an electronic medical record platform to better coordinate care.

In addition to the stand-alone emergency room, the facility will also do lab and imaging work. But no inpatient services will be provided here, so ER patients who need more care will be sent for admittance to other hospitals.