John A. Burns School of Medicine 50th Anniversary Gala

Dr. Keawe Kaholokula during his amazing Hawaiian Chant - Oli

July 19^th, 2015: Last night the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel was filled to the gills with more than 1300 physicians, scientists, professors, administrators and staff, students, families, patrons and benefactors, as well as other University of Hawaii dignitaries to celebrate the 50^th year anniversary of the birth of the John A Burns School of Medicine.  They were all stuffed into the massive second floor Hawaii Ballroom, which typically is subdivided into four smaller ballrooms, usually accommodating to a smattering of events attended by hundreds, not thousands of participants.  Last night was indeed special, not only for the size of the production, but also for its celebratory purpose.

A production it was.  From the moment you stepped foot onto Sheraton Waikiki real-estate, you were funneled into a procession of greeters, hosts to identify your proper tables, and guests chatting and laughing, I knew that this was indeed a well organized celebration that would be easy to endure and even enjoy.  The Program Chair, the honorable James S. Burns, and the two co-chairs, Drs. Tom Kosasa and Carla Nip Sakamoto were there at the front line of the greeting procession to shake everyone’s hand and greet everyone like you were their long lost relative coming back home for a visit.  Up the escalator and to the ballroom foyer, Hawaiian music infused the air with melodious sounds creating a lovely ambiance, produced live from a foursome – Na Leo Kauka (two of whom are JABSOM graduates).  The band was situated at the back window of the foyer playing to hoards of guests that were happily mingling in the crowd.  Several bars lined the escalator perimeter insuring that everyone was sporting at least a partially filled glass of wine and no one was left wanting.  Drinks were served in record time. I can’t remember the last time that I went to a hosted booze affair (actually the wine was donated by two individuals – John Zelko and John Lederer).  Indeed, it was clear that when you take the time for paying for the booze out of the equation, the liquor flowed quickly and efficiently and whatever long lines there were dissolved swiftly right in front of your eyes.  But, maybe it would have been better to have a no-host bar; I certainly would have had fewer glasses of wine and be up this morning writing this blog with a clearer head.

Na Leo Kauka

This 50^th year anniversary was much more interesting and festive than what I remember of the one held 25 years prior, which was more somber and subdued.  But maybe that was due to the fact that I had been at JABSOM for only 13 years instead of 38.  Moreover, in these last 25 years, the number of students graduating JABSOM has more than doubled – using simple mathematics.  And, if we consider that 50 years is not that prohibitively long in relation to a person’s life expectancy, most of the students and many of the faculty members would be expected to be alive with many still in practice and/or still affiliated with UH. With Hawaii’s insular community and the fact that a good number of students graduating JABSOM either settle instantly in Hawaii, or somehow find a way to return sometime in the future, the stage was set for an outstanding turnout of former and present students.  A similar argument can be fashioned for the JABSOM faculty.  And voila! 1300 people found their way to the Sheraton Waikiki on Saturday, July 18^th.  Truly, this felt more like a reunion than a 50 yr. anniversary celebration of the medical school. 

Dr. Jerris Hedges

To be sure, this was more than an anniversary celebration and/or a reunion.  It was an opportunity to fund student scholarships for JABSOM using the bulk of the evening ticket proceeds, a venture that was successful beyond expectation with 750K being announced as the finally tally.  In that respect, the evening was an overwhelming success, which I think made everyone very happy to contribute to such a worthy cause - considering the rising tuition costs and the outrageously high general cost of medical education.  A few more scholarships will make a big difference in recruiting the best students to JABSOM.  That can’t do me any harm as a potential patient for some of them as I see my years swiftly sliding by, recalling that I’m about to turn 69^y/o in a few months.

OK, back to the evening. Physicians and friends that I have known for nearly 40 years, some that I have not seen for decades were there to chat with and hug.  Some like the group from our Okinawa Chubu Hospital affiliated JABSOM program travelled thousands of miles from Japan to attend.  Yikes, I got to say hello to my friend Kaoru Ashimine, Director of the University of Hawaii Postgraduate Medical Education Program at Okinawa who I have not seen in 30 years (I did two stints at Chubu Hospital in my younger JABSOM days that shaped my philosophy of patient care!).  I got a chance to talk to two of my favorite pediatricians Ryan Sumida and Steve Yano; I got to say hello to Keijiro Yazawa, I got to shake the hand of Martin Rayner, Greg Dever, Jerris Hedges, John Lederer, Marian Melish, Santosh Sharma, and countless others.  There were too many people to talk to, what you ended up doing was pure serendipity.  

Dr. Kaoru Ashimine

Dr. Robert Nichols, Dr. Martin Rayner

Dr. Keijiro Yazawa

People looked generally good, not what I expected, despite that fact that not everyone paints their scalp and facial hair with shoe polish like I do.  Most people at the celebration looked health and happy and not too far from being in decent shape.  Very few lay people understand how hard physicians work and how the burden of patient care cannot be shed after the last patient is seen at the end of the day.  Physicians in Hawaii work exceeding hard and their work is an all consuming commitment, so I was happy that not all of them have sacrificed their health for the profession…...or maybe their appearance was colored by the wine that filled my veins. 

Still one of the oddities of Hawaii prevailed at the event.  While the dress of the ladies attending was varied and appropriate with some a bit more formal than others (as much as I can remember), the men presented the greatest contrast in dress.  Some wore aloha shirts and pressed trousers like me, others wore tidy sport coats, ties and shirts, some sported dark suites and ties, and finally a bunch of outliers included those with long sleeve shirts sans ties, or the local Hawaii favorite, the aloha shirt covered with a sports coat.  Anyway it was a mishmash of dress, which in a way took away from the unique celebratory significance of the event, while at the same time making it less formal and more relaxing.  

Mahealani Richardson

 The extended ballroom was warm, spacious and nicely adorned.  As well, the evening presentations were tastefully done and not too long.  The MC was the talented and beautiful Mahealani Richardson, who introduced the speakers; Jerris Hedges, James Burns, Carla Nip-Sakamoto, Thomas Kosasa, and Governor David Ige.  I can’t remember everything that was said, but at least I was quiet and respectful during the presentations.  A wonderful video “50 Years of Healing in Hawaii” was shown, followed by the rapid firing hands and fingers of the master ukulele player, Jake Shimabukuro (I remember first seeing him play in awe when he was 14years old).  Throughout the evening, slides were being shown on several large screens including class pictures, presumably from the first class at JABSOM to the present. 

Honorable James Burns at the Podium

I must admit that it was a little rude of folks, and also a little surprising that so many guests were busy chattering, conversing and visiting during the presentations. I felt that this undermined the message that was being delivered.  It appeared that so many people were caught up in the moment by the buoyant festivities of the evening to really care about who was up at the podium or what was being delivered.  It really caught me off guard; I was even embarrassed for the speakers.  But maybe it was only me, and a few others that noticed the surrounding cloud of background noise that competed for attention during the formal presentations. 

Nevertheless, this 50 yr JABSOM celebration was a wonderful experience in almost everyway.  I think the organizers deserve recognition and congratulations for a job well done.  And 750k is not a trivial amount to add to our JABSOM scholarship fund, which will insure that the legacy of this night will live on for decades to come. 

JABSOM has undoubtedly contributed greatly to the health and wellbeing of our Hawaii community, and it has given abundant opportunities for careers in medicine and medical research as witnessed by the numerous grateful guests that offered their attendance and dollars.  I did feel a strong bond with those attending this celebration understanding how JABSOM has contributed to their lives in individual ways as it has to my life and career.

Indeed, JABSOM has been my home for 38 years.  Attending this 50^th celebration has served as a reminder of the importance of JABSOM in my life and career.  Once thing that is apparent, I will not likely be able to attend JABSOM’s 75^th (I would be 93y/o). But don’t count me out just yet.  Still, calculating my 38 years at JABSOM in relation to JABSOM’s 50-year history equates to more than 75% of its history.  It also represents more than half of my life. 

UH has been my only academic home and it has given me all of the opportunities I have had to grow and prosper (I do not diminish the role of HPH in this regard).  This includes the Director of the Division of Neonatology, my role in the Perinatal Regional Center (KMC) and many of the community hospitals in Hawaii, as Director of the NIH Clinical Research Center (13 years), as PI for several individual, and other large infrastructure grants, as Director of Clinical Research (pseudo Associate Dean) at JABSOM, as the father of the Grants Development Office along with Tammy Ho (resulting in 100+ million dollars being award to JABSOM), as special advisor to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Education at UH Manoa, and now as Professor Emeritus.  I owe my career to JABSOM and UH!

One last item.  I did not attend all of the daytime events on the day of the celebration.  I just want to make sure that we do not forget the individual contribution of my most revered mentor, Fred Greenwood PhD to the evolution of JABSOM and the Cancer Center at UH.  Many folks like Fred, who pride themselves on their ability to motivate, unselfishly prompting others to take ownership of projects under their creation, in the end get forgotten for their contributions.  Make no mistake; Fred was the brilliant architect of JABSOM and the Cancer Center.  So it’s sad that Fred was not here on earth with us to share in the festivities of this special occasion. 

The late Dr. Fred Greenwood