West Hawaii is a growing area, with a population expected to increase 11% in the next 10 years. As such, it is plainly in line for an expansion of health-care capacity that a new hospital could provide.

What makes The Queen’s Health Systems plan for an 80-bed hospital and medical offices in Kailua-Kona even more compelling is its reckoning with another community reality: the drastic shortage of workforce housing. The blueprint is one that should be considered and possibly replicated by other job creators in the state.

The proposed hospital development also would entail the construction of 150 condominium and apartment units for health-care providers and other hospital staff, to be available at below-market rates.

But as this project advances, as it should, there needs to be more communication among the regional health-care providers. Sunday’s Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that officials of the state-run Kona Community Hospital had been unaware of the plan. A sustainable community system will require coordination of health-care needs and services.

The deficit of affordable housing has mushroomed into a national issue, affecting many more municipalities in recent years, but it’s one that’s been familiar to Hawaii families for decades. But compounded by the state’s overall high cost of living, it’s been a particular deterrent to those being recruited to provide professional services here.

Health-care professionals are among the most discouraged from relocating to the islands. Burdened with debt from college loans, they tend to settle in communities offering a better cost-benefit ratio.

The state has worked to address this problem in various ways, most recently with a program that incentivizes new health-care providers delivering care to patients in medically underserved areas. Recipients must commit to at least two years of full- or half-time service. They also are encouraged to be involved in recruitment, teaching, outreach or other workforce development activities.

The positive effect already is noticeable. In the first year of this program, the Health Care Education Loan Repayment Program (HELP), more than 900 medical professionals were able to pay off educational loans for primary care and behavioral health providers.

Gov. Josh Green, himself a physician who has worked in West Hawaii, has championed HELP. He has included in his just-released Executive Biennium Budget $15 million in each of the next two fiscal years to continue the scheme.

But even with the debt relief, finding housing can be a struggle. According to a 2019 SMS Research study prepared for the Hawaii County, 13,303 new dwellings were needed to be built on the Big Island between 2020 and 2025 to keep up with demand. Builders are nowhere near hitting that mark.

The County Council’s responses have included passage of Bill 123, allowing for the construction of more accessory dwelling units.

However, more is clearly needed. The dearth of housing units demands initiatives that can produce at the scale of the problem. While the proposed 150 units is only a start, it sets an example that other major employment hubs — schools, institutions, large companies — could contemplate as a recruitment benefit.

In the health-care sector, West Hawaii does have an existing network: The state’s Hawaii Health Systems Corp. runs both the Kona and Kohala hospitals and was considering constructing a third; Queen’s has the North Hawaii Community Hospital.

But the travel distances, and the projected population increase, do support the plans for a new hospital — especially one that accommodates the housing needs of its staff.