History

Though medicine has seen many changes since the medical center was founded, Adventist Health Castle has never lost sight of the human side of healthcare. Today, our commitment to providing innovative healthcare is still coupled with concern for each patient’s physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Since Adventist Health Castle first opened its doors in 1963, the medical center’s primary mission has been to meet the needs of the community. Windward O‘ahu residents welcomed their new medical center with sighs of relief. Finally, care was available close to home.

Expanding services to meet community needs

For years, Windward O‘ahu residents had contended with part-time ambulance service and unpredictable trips over the old Pali Road. In an emergency — when immediate medical care was critical — residents prayed that rockslides and sudden downpours wouldn’t slow their journey.

A small community group, long aware of these problems, launched a campaign in 1953 to establish a medical center in Windward O‘ahu. The late Robert Chung, MD, and Carolyn Rankin were the medical center’s major proponents. Numerous fundraisers built financial and community support for the project.

The campaign continued to gain momentum. A series of articles in The Honolulu Advertiser documented the seven-year struggle for a Windward O‘ahu medical center. Castle Ranch donated 10 acres of land as a site for the facility. The Seventh-day Adventist Church offered $600,000 toward construction, and $170,000 was raised through community contributions.

Fighting for funding

Though the Governor’s Hospital Advisory Council and the 30th Territorial Legislature backed the project, the state board of health refused to designate Windward O‘ahu as a separate medical center zone. As a result, federal funds for construction were stalled.

Not long after, two separate incidents further emphasized the need for a community medical center. Five men were injured when a roof collapsed at the nearly completed Cornet Store in Kailua. The next month, a 2-year-old Kailua girl choked to death on a pill. Doctors in Honolulu felt her life might have been saved if a medical center operating room had been close to home.

The following month, the state board of health approved the proposed medical center, and federal funds were made available.

The $2 million facility opened January 16, 1963, a little more than a year after ground was broken. Castle Memorial Hospital, named after Harold K.L. Castle who donated the land, opened with 72 beds and 14 bassinets. In 1983, the hospital changed its name to Castle Medical Center to reflect its growth into outpatient services and programs.

Adventist Health Castle today

Founded in 1963, Adventist Health Castle is an award-winning, faith-based, nonprofit, integrated health system dedicated to caring for Windward O‘ahu families for over 60 years. The organization comprises inpatient and outpatient services at its 160-bed Level III Trauma medical center in Kailua, primary and specialty care clinics, urgent care clinics and home-care services throughout Oʻahu. The compassionate and talented team of 1,250 employees, 370 active medical staff and 70 employed providers unite under one mission: living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope.