Hilo Medical Center and W.H. Shipman officials gathered Wednesday in front of the longtime W.H. Shipman headquarters for a groundbreaking for the newest East Hawaii Health Clinic in Keaau.

Plans call for converting the office building into clinic space and adding a parking lot. Construction will begin in September, with renovations ending by mid-2021.

“We started talking to Hawaii Health Systems about building a clinic several years ago,” said W.H. Shipman President Peggy Farias. “We didn’t have the perfect plan for Keaau until we had the ability to relocate our headquarters.”

W.H. Shipman is working from a temporary location while its new headquarters in Keaau is being renovated.

“We’ve been in the same office for 50 years, so moving out had to be for the perfect reason,” Farias said. “Converting the facility to a clinic is so important for the growing community and necessary for Puna.”

Puna continues to be one of the fastest growing areas in the state. W.H. Shipman has been overseeing the growth of the community with its Keaau Village Master Plan to help bring a variety of services and opportunities to the area.

“The clinic will not only make quality health care and specialists more accessible to the residents of the Puna region, but will also provide job opportunities and is expected to be a catalyst to bring other service providers to Keaau,” Farias said.

East Hawaii Health Clinics, a department of Ka‘u Hospital, are certified rural health clinics dedicated to investing in and providing more essential services to underserved communities.

“East Hawaii Health Clinic Keaau will provide primary care, behavioral health and imaging, as well as access to the full complement of specialists,” said Dan Brinkman, East Hawaii Regional CEO of Hawaii Health Systems Corp. “Over time, we hope to expand our health care services and keep pace with the long-term growth of the Puna District.”

Kahu Kimo Awai blessed the old headquarters for the official groundbreaking ceremony, which observed the beginning of the public-private partnership between W.H. Shipman and East Hawaii Health Clinics.

“Constructing and opening this clinic will help to continue the work of building a stronger community in Keaau,” Farias said.

Email Kelsey Walling at kwalling@hawaiitribune-herald.com