The news that the group backing the proposed Malulani Health & Medical Center ceased operations was no surprise. The plan failed to win the state support it needed.

There's hope, however, that the upheaval over this proposal has re-energized the push to improve medical services for Maui's outlying communities.

Most of this energy is powering a plan for a medical facility on 14.9 acres that primarily would serve West Maui. Kaanapali Land Management Corp. would donate the land.

The state-run Maui Memorial Medical Center, which had been at odds with Malulani over its full-scale hospital plan, is hoping to find a partner to develop the new, privately owned facility.

As it's now envisioned, the facility would focus on acute-care services — desperately needed by residents who make long trips to Maui Memorial through a main highway, an artery occasionally closed by accidents.

It also would provide other "ancillary" services that would help its owners cover the high acute-care expenses, but it's unclear what those might be.

It's promising to see positive movement.

The Valley Isle is growing so fast that it's hard to imagine it couldn't support two full-scale hospitals. However, creating a complementary facility that could later expand to meet growing demands could achieve the same goal.

Political powers seem to be aligning behind this idea, with the County Council moving to expedite the process of changing land-use, community-plan and zoning maps for the project. The Planning Commission may have the final environmental assessment on the project by the end of summer; advocates for the project should keep the pressure on so that no momentum is lost.

What's critical is that the medical professionals, as well as the community that will support it financially, have a voice in its development. This needs to be a facility directed from the home front.