KAHULUI — A state health panel unanimously recommended approval yesterday of the proposed West Maui Hospital and Medical Center.

The project has long been a dream of dozens of West Maui residents who spent the last 10 years lobbying for a state-of-the-art hospital in their community.

Newport Hospital Corp. President Brian Hoyle proposes to build a $45 million critical access hospital with 25 acute-care beds and a 40-bed skilled nursing facility on 14.9 acres neighboring the Lahaina Civic Center.

Maui Memorial Medical Center would continue to serve as the primary acute-care facility for the island, and should not, according to Hoyle, be negatively affected by the establishment of a West Maui hospital.

In response to a question from the Statewide Health Coordinating Council, Hoyle said Maui Memorial would maintain its sole provider status and the millions of dollars in federal aid attached to it.

As for the West Maui hospital financing, Hoyle said he plans to seek federal funding and medical reimbursements specifically geared for critical access hospitals like the one he's proposing. Should government support or private banking become unavailable, Hoyle said he would seek other private investors and tap into his own money to ensure the facility's success.

He pointed out more than once yesterday his 30-plus years of experience in financing and building about 50 small hospitals on the Mainland. "I've never had one fail, and I certainly don't plan on it this time," he said.

Maui Memorial Chief Executive Officer Wesley Lo reiterated yesterday his "generally supportive" stance of the West Maui hospital application and his desire to discuss details with Hoyle about how the two facilities can cooperatively co-exist.

The West Maui hospital proposal received widespread support yesterday, including written testimony from Gov. Linda Lingle and the in-person backing of West Maui Rep. Angus McKelvey, who said the entire Maui legislative delegation supports the project.

The only testimony critical of the proposed certificate of need permit came from surgeon Dr. Peter Galpin, who expressed concern that the West Maui hospital would be considered a "definitive care" facility when it's not.

He said he believed it would be much more cost-effective to invest in alternative means of transportation to get critically ill or injured patients out of West Maui and into a full-service hospital.