Kona

Our Campus

The Kona campus on the Island of Hawaii is the fifth and newest for MEDEX Northwest PA education. The Big Island has a population of over 200,000—the fastest growing in the state of Hawaii. This population is medically underserved with the greatest shortage of health care workers in the state. At present, there are only 350 practicing physician assistants in the entire state. That translates to 46th in the nation for the number of PA’s per capita population, rendering them almost invisible. The establishment of the MEDEX Kona campus is an opportunity to address this imbalance and have a positive impact on these numbers in the Hawaiian community. The Kona campus classroom is flexibly designed and electronically equipped to accommodate lectures, presentations, clinics, workshops and the interactive requirements of a collaborative and hybrid educational environment.

Our Campus

Getting Around Kona

Kona is located on the island of Hawai’i, aka The Big Island. It is connected to the other Hawaiian islands by air. Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the U.S. mainland are all accessible through the Kona International Airport. The MEDEX Kona campus is located about 20 minutes by car outside of Kona. The facility features plenty of parking. There are public bus options as well. Hawai’i County also offers free mass transit on the Helo On (Let’s Go) Bus service, with stops all around the island. And of course bicycles are frequently spotted in and around Kona.

Getting Around Kona

Kona is tropical, with a semi-arid climate. It is the warmest place in the U.S. in January with an average high of 90 degrees. In the Hawaiian language, Kona means “leeward,” or dry side of the island. Fog can cover parts of the Kona coast from time to time depending on the activity of the island’s Kilauea volcano. The mostly dry Kona side sees an average annual precipitation of 18.93 inches. By contrast, the wet Hilo side sees 130 inches of rain, or 275 days a year. Hawaii is the only Hawaiian island that grows coffee, cocoa and vanilla. To say that the island supports incredible views is an understatement. But it also includes such historical landmarks as the Mokuaikaua Church, the oldest Christian church on the Hawaiian Islands (dating back to the 1800s), the Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark, the last residence of King Kamehameha the Great and originally the capital of newly unified Hawaii, Hulihe‘e Palace, once a summer vacation home for Hawaiian royalty, and the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park/Honokōhau Settlement. an archaeological site that preserves ancient temples and petroglyphs (rock carvings).