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Reflecting back on National Doctors\u2019 Day, five health care professionals share personal stories about their commitment to creating a healthier Hawai\u2018i. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n National Doctors\u2019 Day is celebrated annually on March 30 to honor the care physicians give to their patients, the work they do in their communities and their extraordinary devotion to saving lives. This day traces its roots to March 30,1933, when Eudora Brown Almond \u2014 the wife of a physician in Georgia \u2014 began efforts to recognize doctors for their service.<\/strong><\/p>\n Although they come from all walks of life, here in the islands, the physicians of Hawai\u2018i Pacific Health (HPH) share a common mission to create a healthier Hawai\u2018i. They stand ready for their patients and serve with dedication in the community. Hawai\u2018i Pacific Health Medical Group (HPHMG) was formed in 2019 to unite medical professionals across HPH\u2019s four medical centers and multiple clinics.<\/p>\n HPHMG comprises more than 800 physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists, optometrists, psychologists and genetic counselors. Many have been serving Hawai\u2018i patients for decades.<\/p>\n The HPHMG team works in the following clinics and medical centers across the state: Kapi\u2018olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center, Straub Medical Center and clinics, Wilcox Medical Center and Kaua\u2018i Medical Clinic.<\/p>\n HPHMG providers care for patients in their own communities. The wide network of doctors serves patients across the state \u2014 from Hawai\u2018i Island to Kaua\u2018i \u2014 for the best health outcomes possible.<\/p>\n The medical group collaborates closely with more than 500 physicians in Hawai\u2018i Health Partners \u2014 HPH\u2019s physician-led accountable care organization.<\/p>\n HPHMG also works closely with the University of Hawai\u2018i\u2019s John A. Burns School of Medicine to grow the next generation of doctors and health care professionals for the state.<\/p>\n What are a few of the personal stories of these medical providers at Hawai\u2018i Pacific Health? Well, take for example, five of them: Drs. Anne Dempsey, Mark Grief, Ian Okazaki, Russell Woo and Kelly Yamasato. Throughout this article, the doctors of HPH take the time to talk about their experiences and areas of expertise.<\/p>\n Dr. Anne Dempsey<\/strong> specializes in internal medicine at Wilcox Medical Center. She\u2019s a primary care physician who survived cancer and builds strong relationships with her patients to promote preventive care.<\/p>\n Dr. Anne Dempsey<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI stayed in Dallas to do my residency and training, and then went to Austin and was a hospitalist for nine years. I\u2019ve been practicing for over 20 years now,\u201d says Dempsey.<\/p>\n She also shares that it\u2019s the relationships she enjoys most about her career.<\/p>\n \u201cI really get to know my patients. Sometimes I even take care of their families, whether it\u2019s their husbands or wives, their parents or adult children. It\u2019s just been a wonderful experience. On Kaua\u2018i, I get to be the community doctor. I see my patients everywhere I go,\u201d Dempsey notes.<\/p>\n Delving deeper into her life, Dempsey explains, \u201cThe first time I came to Kaua\u2018i, I said, \u2018I\u2019m going to live here someday.\u2019 I thought it would be much later in life, but then I was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2012. I had surgery the following month. I finished chemotherapy and radiation in the spring of 2013. After I was finished, I asked myself, \u2018What kind of life do I want to be living?\u2019 and \u2018What will I regret not doing?\u2019 The answer was to live on Kaua\u2018i. I joined the team at Wilcox Medical Center in 2014.\u201d<\/p>\n Health management is one topic that is near and dear to Dempsey\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to take care of a patient\u2019s health before they have complications from their conditions. People can reverse their high blood pressure or improve their diabetes largely with lifestyle changes. With the Health Management Program, we work closely with patients to empower them to help themselves,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n According to Dempsey, \u201cWhen you get people on the right track with the right medications or the right counseling, and they\u2019re motivated to change, it\u2019s incredible. I have patients who say these lifestyle changes \u2018saved my life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n She also notes that HPH has really embraced team-based care, which has been significant not only for patients, but for physicians, advanced practice providers and the nursing staff.<\/p>\n Dr. Ian Okazaki<\/strong> is a specialist in hematology and oncology at Straub Medical Center who is fascinated by the molecular aspect of cancer and finding the genes that cause cancer. The committed leader in cancer care regularly goes to Maui and to Wilcox Medical Center on Kaua\u2018i. HPH teams travel statewide.<\/p>\n Dr. Ian Okazaki<\/p><\/div>\n Okazaki says he\u2019s passionate about traveling to rural areas across the state to help those who need it.<\/p>\n \u201cLike lots of us, my dad\u2019s side of the family is a plantation family from the Big Island. My mom grew up in Honolulu. People need help no matter where they are,\u201d he says. \u201cYou can\u2019t really say that you are compassionate and committed until you make sure that the ones who have the least amount of access to health care or are among the populations that are overlooked have what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n Okazaki also explains that HPH has accomplished much in cancer care that has been beneficial to the entire state of Hawai\u2018i.<\/p>\n \u201cA big step Hawai\u2018i Pacific Health has taken is to integrate services as a system for cancer. Whether you live on Kaua\u2018i, in Central and West O\u2018ahu, or in town, our cancer centers are unified, and services are standardized across our system,\u201d says Okazaki. \u201cOur facilities and our cancer centers still have specialized care, like pediatric oncology at Kapi\u2018olani, but patients can expect unified services from one facility to the other from our top-notch nurses to infusion processes. Having our network of care has also allowed us to build out sites of excellence that are unique in what they offer.\u201d<\/p>\n He also elaborates that HPH has complete multidisciplinary care teams.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve created specific cancer teams made up of physicians, nurses and nurse practitioners who all work together. There\u2019s a lung cancer team, breast cancer team, skin cancer team, malignant hematology team, gastrointestinal cancer team and urologic cancer team, each focused on an individual patient\u2019s needs. The whole intent of this system approach is to provide better expertise to all our patients. It\u2019s better cancer care. It\u2019s more comprehensive from screening and prevention to the entire continuum where you have palliative care and terminal care.\u201d<\/p>\n Okazaki also believes that what really needs to be emphasized to everyone in Hawai\u2018i is that clinical research matters.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot make advances in cancer care unless we are also leading the drive to get active cancer clinical trials in Hawai\u2018i so that people have access to them. That\u2019s how we make advances, that\u2019s how cancer care improves, and that\u2019s how survival rates improve,” Okazaki declares.<\/p>\n Back on O\u2018ahu, Dr. Mark Grief<\/strong> is a pioneering physician for bariatric care at Pali Momi Medical Center with nearly four decades of surgical expertise. In fact, Grief was one of the original physicians when the medical center opened in 1989.<\/p>\n Dr. Mark Grief<\/p><\/div>\n Grief was exposed to medicine at age 16 when he worked as an operating room orderly in Kentucky. As a teen driven to be a surgeon, he also tried to become ambidextrous by trimming cabbage with his nondominant hand at a grocery store job.<\/p>\n Since he started his career, Grief has seen surgery dramatically evolve.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say 70% of the cases I do now were not even taught when I was a surgical resident. That\u2019s how much medicine evolves and changes. Then, operations involved a large incision so surgeons could get their hands into the body,\u201d Grief says. \u201cLaparoscopic surgery was new, minimally invasive and called for a small incision. I learned laparoscopic surgeries for gallbladders, hernias, colons and appendectomies after finishing training. I also developed the skills for bariatric surgery later, in 2009.\u201d<\/p>\n Grief lost count of how many surgeries he\u2019s done in his career after about 35,000 when adding up in-office procedures and major operations. For bariatric surgeries, he estimates that it\u2019s close to a thousand.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re proud that the bariatric surgery program is an accredited Center of Excellence at Pali Momi Medical Center. What we do now with bariatric surgery is the same whether you\u2019re in California, New York or London. It\u2019s very specific. If you are about 100 pounds overweight, your risk of dying in the next five years is drastically higher than if you undergo bariatric surgery,\u201d Grief elaborates. \u201cAccording to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, with the weight-loss surgery, your diabetes goes away 92% of the time, your hypertension improves 75% of the time, and your sleep apnea goes away 96% of the time. That\u2019s what hooked me \u2014 to know we could medically improve health with this surgery. It could reverse those complications. Those are incredible outcomes.”<\/p>\n Dr. Russell Woo<\/strong> works as an innovative pediatric surgeon at Kapi\u2018olani Medical Center for Women & Children.<\/p>\n Dr. Russell Woo<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cWe treat newborns who are born with conditions that need immediate attention \u2014 they won\u2019t survive without medical care. After their treatment, when you are able see them celebrate their 10th birthday, it\u2019s very fulfilling. It is an honor and why I went into pediatric surgery,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Woo strongly believes in research and helped to establish surgical verification recognition at Kapi\u2018olani.<\/p>\n Recently, Kapi\u2018olani became the first and only medical center in Hawai\u2018i to be nationally recognized as a Level I Children\u2019s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re one of about 50 hospitals across the nation with ACS\u2019s highest distinction. It awards medical centers that have the experience, expertise and resources to provide comprehensive treatment for a wide range of complex conditions from congenital heart surgery to pediatric neurosurgery and neonatal surgery,\u201d Woo says.<\/p>\n \u201cKapi\u2018olani would not have achieved this without the commitment by HPH and all its providers,\u201d he continues. \u201cWe want to provide world-class care to Hawai\u2018i\u2019s women and children.<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t simple. Kapi\u2018olani had to ensure not only that it has facilities and equipment specifically designed for children; the medical team had to commit to being on-call for a range of needs 24\/7 and check specialized credentialing and training for staff,\u201d he adds. \u201cWe had to make sure that across the journey of a surgical patient \u2014 before they enter the hospital, in the hospital and back at home \u2014 that their parents had all the education, resources and collaborations to deliver the best care. One of the key aspects is detailed and consistent processes of review by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, nurses and specialists.\u201d<\/p>\n Woo is also excited about training the next generation of physicians and helping them advance the technology and treatments in the field.<\/p>\n For example, he helps fellow physicians further their research through HPH\u2019s Biomedical Research and Innovation Center, which he co-chairs with Kapi\u2018olani pediatric cardiologist Dr. Andras Bratincsak. He also has the opportunity to work with University of Hawai\u2018i John A. Burns medical students to explore their own scientific studies as JABSOM\u2019s medical student research director and as the associate chair for research in the department of surgery.<\/p>\n \u201cEducating students and innovating new treatments go hand-in-hand \u2014 both are essential to the goal of providing better care for our patients now and into the future,\u201d says Woo.<\/p>\n Demonstrating another of the vast array of fields that medicine covers is Dr. Kelly Yamasato<\/strong> of Kapi\u2018olani Medical Center for Women & Children. Yamasato grew up in Waimea on Hawai\u2018i Island and did all her medical training at JABSOM, including medical school, residency and fellowship. As a faculty member of JABSOM, a large part of her role is education and research as well.<\/p>\n Dr. Kelly Yamasato<\/p><\/div>\n Yamasato has a love for obstetrics-gynecology and has been instrumental in helping babies survive against all odds.<\/p>\n \u201cI found myself being drawn toward trying to help those with the greatest needs during pregnancy, and therefore decided to specialize in maternal fetal medicine and take care of those with high-risk pregnancies,\u201d Yamasato says.<\/p>\n \u201cWe take care of a lot of women with medical conditions such as high blood pressure and diabetes that require extra monitoring during pregnancy. Many of these conditions create pregnancy risks to both the mom and the baby,\u201d she elaborates.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also care for expectant moms who do not have any medical conditions, but their baby may have a complication such as a heart defect, poor growth or other conditions that require extra prenatal monitoring and planning for neonatal care. We also take care of women with multiple gestations, such as those who carry twins and triplets. Several years ago a local mom gave birth to quintuplets \u2014 they were cared for by the Maternal Fetal Medicine team at Kapi\u2018olani.\u201d<\/p>\n One example of an area that Yamasato has a particular interest in is periviable birth \u2014 this is when a woman is at risk for delivering her child very early, near the limits of when a baby can survive after birth.<\/p>\n \u201cThe counseling and decisions made by the pregnant mother in this situation are extremely complex and require a close-knit team approach. This is an example of an area of maternal fetal medicine care that we are working on at Kapi\u2018olani,\u201d Yamasato adds. \u201cTo be honest, after all these years I still marvel at those first ultrasounds when a baby is a few millimeters long and you can already see that flicker of a heartbeat. To think we all started out like that. I\u2019ve delivered some babies who\u2019ve weighed just about a pound at birth, while the heaviest baby I\u2019ve delivered weighed 14 pounds. On either end of the spectrum, our neonatology colleagues at Kapi\u2018olani provide amazing care after birth.\u201d<\/p>\n Summing up their heartfelt stories, these five doctors are just a few of the hundreds of medical professionals who are part of the dedicated HPH \u2018ohana of caregivers who all work in collaboration with each other. Their individual histories and specialties vary, but what ties all of their contributions together are shared values. They include close attention to team-based multidisciplinary care, forging relationships with patients and their families, an emphasis on the importance of education and research, and much more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reflecting back on National Doctors\u2019 Day, five health care professionals share personal stories about their commitment to creating a healthier..<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":1937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover-story"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/hawaii.carpentermediagroup.com\/midweekhawaii\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/mw-cover-032923-national-doctors-day-hph-lt009.jpg\")
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