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Pan-Pacific
Surgeon Newsletter
Chapters
in Australia, Canada, Hawaii, Japan and Korea
Vol.1, No. 1 Pan-Pacific Surgical Association
News Summer 2000
New Healthcare
Association Consultants Assisting PPSA
The Pan-Pacific Surgical Association
is rapidly moving ahead under the direction of new healthcare association management
consultants based in Honolulu. PPSA was previously served by SLACK, a management consulting
firm based in New Jersey.
The new independent consultants
are Cathy Iwai, Duke Gonzales and Sandra Zukeran. Together, they
bring considerable experience in healthcare association administration, marketing and
communications, and membership support services.
"It was more convenient
for us to have consultants here in Honolulu who can respond quickly to our needs,"
said Dr. Thomas Kosasa, PPSA chairman. "Having consultants instead of staff
also helps us to control costs more effectively and allows us to tap into a wider arena
of expertise."
The new team will be a resource
to PPSA’s board of trustees, serving in marketing, member communication, database
management, administrative support, and other critical areas.
In addition to these responsibilities,
the team will also serve as guides and assistants to each of the specialty chairs to
ensure a successful biennial congress in 2002.
PPSA Awards
Scholarships to Pacific Island Medical School Students
Dr. Thomas Kosasa,
chairman of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association, recently presented two University
of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine students from the Pacific Islands with a
$1,000 scholarship each as a way to enhance surgical and medical knowledge in the Pacific.
The scholarships are from the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association’s Living Endowment
Fund, which is funded by its surgeon members and other generous individuals.
The recipients were Brian
Carino, a third year medical student, left in photo, and Robert
Pangilinan, right, also a third year medical student. Brian Carino plans
to return to the Republic of Palau to practice medicine, where physicians are scarce.
He was born and raised on Guam, but also spent time on other islands in Micronesia,
including Saipan, Chuuk and Palau, From 1993 to 1995, Brian spent his summers as a volunteer
intern at the Belau Medical Clinic and the McDonald Memorial Hospital in the Republic
of Palau, and his experiences inspired him to become a physician.
Robert Pangilinan was also
born and raised on Guam and lived there all of his life. He had a summer clerkship at
Guam Memorial Hospital in 1999 and has been involved in epidemiological research of
tuberculosis for Guam’s Department of Public Health. He plans to become a gastroenterologist
because there currently is no one on Guam serving in that capacity, and it is an area
of medicine that interests him.
Welcome
from PPSA’s New Chairman
"Surgical and medical
practices in the Asia-Pacific region are rapidly changing and the Pan-Pacific Surgical
Association is committed to being at the forefront of these changes. In this new millennium,
the trustees of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association board have recommitted themselves
to ensure that we continue the mission of this organization.
"The primary objective
of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association is to serve as a hub connecting surgeons bordering
the Pacific Ocean, facilitating an exchange of medical and surgical knowledge, and fostering
fellowship and understanding. We have reexamined our purpose and although our organization
was founded more than 70 years ago, we believe that our mission is still relevant today.
In fact, the board believes the Pan-pacific Surgical Association will play an increasingly
important role for surgeons. With technological advances seeming to occur each moment,
we have the tools to help each other stay up-to-date on the best practices in medicine.
"Admittedly, in the
past we have not always lived up to our expectations. We are changing that with a renewed
emphasis on service to you, our members. In this new millennium, we would like to encourage
you to get acquainted with the new Pan-Pacific Surgical Association.
"This is an exciting
time to be part of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association. If you have not renewed your
membership, do so today. I have every confidence in our board and new healthcare association
management consultants who have pledged to make our organization a worthwhile investment
for you.
"Already, we are making
plans for our next Biennial Congress from January 26 to 29, 2002, at the Sheraton Waikiki
Hotel in Honolulu. We would like to encourage you to start making plans to attend. As
we pull together, this can certainly be a valuable and informative congress.
"To ensure we are meeting
your needs, be sure to call, fax, or e-mail us. If you have a question, we will answer
it. If you have a request, we will meet it. If you have a concern, we will resolve it.
The new Pan-Pacific Surgical Association looks forward to exceeding your expectations!"
Thomas Kosasa, MD
Chairman
PPSA Board of Trustees
An Inspiring
Message from PPSA’s New President
"It is a great honor
to be President of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association on the occasion of its 25th
Biennial Congress, a meeting that previous Board Chairman Dr. Allan Kunimoto
took personal responsibility to ensure its success, and what a success it was.
"Many changes have
taken place in the last two years. Perhaps one that members have noticed is the relocation
of the administrative office from the mainland back to Honolulu. After quite a lot of
behind-the-scenes activities and effort, this has now been accomplished, and with our
own website (www.ppsa.org). The site has been visited almost 5,000 times per month.
"With the administrative
support in place, leaders of the Association will be able to concentrate on other important
matters such as the character of the biennial congresses (both scientifically and socially),
recruitment of new members, retaining existing members by providing better "value,"
exploring affiliations with other organizations in the region, and considering the possibilities
of joint meetings with specialty groups with similar backgrounds.
"These are all important
issues that our association must address and be able to act upon, if we are to be successful
in the decades ahead.
"Our aim of being a
first class professional and social organization can only be achieved if we are able
to face these challenges with optimism, courage, commitment, and skill. I believe we
have the leaders who can and will transform these challenges into successes so long
as we have the support and encouragement of our membership."
John Wong, MD
President
PPSA Board of Trustees
New PPSA
Chairman Elevates Stature of Surgical Organization
Dr. Thomas Kosasa brings
a wealth of experience and leadership to his position as chairman of the board of trustees
of the 1,200-member Pan-Pacific Surgical Association. He is renowned in Hawaii and throughout
the Pacific for his breakthrough work in the area of in vitro fertilization. He serves
as co-director of the Pacific In-Vitro Fertilization Institute, and chief of the reproductive
endocrinology division at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.
The obstetrician/gynecologist
also serves as a professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University
of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. Dr. Kosasa, noted in Hawaii for his success
in vitro fertilization, has been named one of "Hawaii’s Top Docs" by
Honolulu magazine.
Dr. Kosasa graduated with a
bachelor of arts degree in architecture from Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire,
and received his medical degree from McGill University Medical School in Montreal, Canada.
He is a member of the Board
of Medical Examiners for the State of Hawaii and serves as consultant to the Food and
Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research until June 2002.
He previously served as a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Advisory
Committee for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, an appointed position, from
1993 to 1997.
A Double
Bonus!
A great meeting, in a great
location! The Pan-Pacific Surgical Association presents its 26th Biennial
Congress from January 26 to 29, 2002 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Make plans to attend this educational meeting and schedule your vacation in Hawaii at
the same time! Watch for more details in the coming months! Attendees and exhibitors,
call (808) 941-1010, fax at (808) 536-4141 or e-mail c.iwai@gte.net for more information.
Return Your
Membership Envelope Today!
A letter from Dr. Thomas
Kosasa was recently sent to all Pan-Pacific Surgical Association members along with
a membership envelope.
Please complete the information
on the envelope and return it with the appropriate membership dues for 2000 — 2001.
Your dues will help the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association develop programs to benefit
our members.
Members also have the option
of making a donation to the Living Endowment Fund, which supports PPSA’s volunteer
surgical missions in the Pacific.
Pan-Pacific’s
Japan Chapter Active and Flourishing,
17th
Congress Set for This Fall in Bali, Indonesia
Dr. Juro Wada, Japanese
representative of the Japan Chapter of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association and Vice
President of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association, met with Dr. Thomas Kosasa
on August 10, 2000 in Honolulu. Dr. Wada was enroute to a meeting in Vancouver, British
Columbia, and took the time to stop in Honolulu for this meeting.
Dr. Wada wanted to inform members
that the Japan Chapter is active and now has more than 350 members. The Japan Chapter
has also received an excellent response for its 17th Congress planned for
October 31 to November 1, 2000 at the Nikko Bali Resort and Spa in Bali, Indonesia,
under the guidance of Dr. Akira Kakita, President of the 17th congress.
Dr. Wada organized the first Congress of the Japan Chapter of the Pan-Pacific Surgical
Association in Tokyo in 1984, but expressed that the most recent annual congresses have
been held in countries outside Japan in order to deepen the friendship and to share
the latest information in surgery with the members of these countries.
Pan-Pacific
Surgeon
Pan-Pacific Surgeon is a publication
of the Pan-Pacific Surgical Association, a nonprofit organization founded in 1929 to
facilitate the exchange of medical and surgical knowledge and foster fellowship and
understanding among surgeons of different specialties within the Pacific.
For more information, write
to: Pan-Pacific Surgical Association, P.O. Box 61479, Honolulu, Hawaii 96839 or c.iwai@gte.net,
call (808) 941-1010, or fax (808 536-4141.
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