02/11/2026
Medtronic Service Day at QNHCH
QNHCH was recently the fortunate recipient of dozens of pairs of helping hands and strong backs that worked to help clean up our hospital campus. Top employees from world medical technology leader Medtronic were on-island for a conference and wanted to provide meaningful service to QNHCH. These special Medtronic employees picked up trash, trimmed landscaping, pulled weeds, and washed windows. People may ask what the special relationship is between Medtronic and QNHCH…..here’s the answer!
Medtronic is the world’s biotech leader with over 90,000 employees worldwide. Medtronic was founded by Earl Bakken, an American engineer, businessman, philanthropist and inventor of the first external, battery-operated, transistorized, wearable artificial pacemaker in 1957. After a long and successful career and philanthropic life in Minneapolis, Earl Bakken and his wife Doris found their home on Hawai’i Island and became involved with the health and wellness of the North Hawai’i community. His leadership, vision, and philanthropy benefitted not only our community but the entire state. His involvement started in 1990, creating the hospital mission, “to heal body, mind and spirit,” and he served on the NHCH board of directors for many years. He coined the term “blended medicine” and worked to combine Eastern and Western approaches to medicine to develop a more holistic approach to health care.
Mahalo to Medtronic and to Dr. Earl Bakken!
