Sherrel Leyton Hammar: 1931 - 2016 - RIP - UPDATED

Posted On May 24th, 2016 - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

May 17, 2016 

Sherrel Leyton Hammar, 84, of Honolulu, a pediatrician and chief of pediatrics at Kapiolani Medical Center as well as chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, University of Hawaii, died in Honolulu. He was born in Caldwell, Idaho. He is survived by wife Shirley G. Hammar, daughter Kathryn H. Pryor and three grandchildren. No services. Donations suggested to John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, or Kapiolani Medical Center for Women & Children. No services.

Saddened by the terse and anemic obituary above, I would like to share some of my thoughts and the words of other faculty members and staff who have volunteered to contribute to this blog.   Moreover, I will incorporate the comments of others that come forth in the future, which I hope happens.  Anyone interested in contributing to a permanent memory of Dr. Hammar and his life, please let me know…..easad@hawaii.edu.

What he looked like when in the 70's and 80's

Guessing this is from U Washington days where he trained in
Adolescent Medicine

With Dr. Gwen Nagua

With wife Shirley

From present Dept Chair, Ken Nakamura:

Good morning,

            I wanted all to know that our beloved former Pediatric Department Chair, Dr. Sherrel Hammar, passed away on Tuesday, May 17.  Dr. Hammar was the third Pediatric Dept Chair, serving in this role from 1973-1996.  In addition, he served as interim Dean of the School of Medicine from 1996 to 1999 and many credit his leadership for “saving” the medical school where at that time in the mid- to late- 90’s, there was increasing pressure to close the medical school. 

            Dr. Hammar was the consummate kind and gentle man, with a deep commitment to medical education.  Who can forget “Hammar rounds” with the med students?  During his 23 years as the Dept Chair, scores of pediatricians were trained in his program, many of whom are still caring for patients in our state. 

            We are forever grateful for the examples he set for us in his personal and professional life.  We owe much to him and must carry on his legacy.  At his request, there are no plans for a service. 

Sincerely,

Ken Nakamura MD

From previous Dept Chair, Raul Rudoy:

Dr Hammar was my benefactor and my mentor. He shaped my view of my academic carrier and helped me to further my interest in medicine and in life in general.

The Academic community of Hawaii will always remember him as a man who wore many hats, as the man that was able and willing to help by taking a challenging position to protect and advance our Medical School. He developed the Adolescent Medicine program, was the Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, the Pediatric Residency program director, the Director of the Pediatric Medical Students Clerkship and for a while the Dean of the medical School.

On Saturday morning it was common to see him down the hall of the medical wards talking with the students and sharing his knowledge. Dr. Hammar’s rounds where events full of excitement, competition and some fear. Hamma’s rounds become the training ground for the real world of medicine that each one of the students aspired to conquer

I was fortunate to work with him during many years and I particularly remember the time when our training program was on probation. Under his direction the program flourished, probation was removed and we became very competitive. I so his actions as a testament to his motivation and commitment to the Department of Pediatrics and I learned from him that hard work really, really pays back.

I will miss him

Raul Rudoy

Robert Pantell: I served on Several AAP Committees with Sherrel. He was wise and his views always  valued and  respected. We also marveled at his ability to make conference calls that were often set at times convenient  for  those on the East Coast.

A more personal note from Ken Nakamura: Dr Hammar was a very early riser.  I’m trying to mimic his circadian office hours.  He was usually in his office before everyone else except the neonatologists who started rounding at 3:30 am back in the day.  I remember many quiet mornings when I was able to speak to him privately and without interruption as dawn was appearing.  I learned a lot and treasure those times. 

 

Lorraine Hirazumi: Dr. Hammar was truly a great gentleman and leader.  I will, forever, be grateful for what he has done for me in my career. 

David Easa: Sherrel Hammar recruited me to JABSOM in 1977 with his authority as the Department Chair of Pediatrics. While not versed in Neonatal Intensive Care or even interested in entering through its doors, he was truly a wonderful leader, mentor, role model, friend and an engaging and ethical human being who arguably created the best clinical department at JABSOM during his lengthy 23-year tenure as the Department Chair.  Others will speak to all of his accomplishments, which were many.

 

What amazed me was the way he was able to piece together a relatively large department - for the time - composed of General Pediatricians and Subspecialty Pediatric physicians with little to no funding by convincing hospital administrators Richard Davi and Paul Cook over the need for funding MD’s to care for Hawaii’s hospitalized children. And he did this at a time when there was no billing for professional services for hospital-based physicians.

 

Likewise, he was able to leverage the few FTE’s the medical school provided the Department by slicing and dicing these FTE’s into small fractions dolled out carefully for the maximum benefit.  And he was able to do this without yelling and screaming, scheming or lying, which he never resorted to.  Indeed, he almost never raised his voice. He was the consummate gentleman and one that was respected throughout JABSOM and the community.

 

Others will claim a special relationship built upon the early morning informal chats in his office, fueled by a few cups of coffee, and facilitated by an open door policy producing friendly and light hearted chatter and discussion. Indeed, anything could be discussed and everything would spark a light-hearted laugh or two.

 

I came to his office each morning to seek his council and learn the latest department gossip. I came as often as possible after my early morning NICU rounds, which roughly took from 4am to 6am.  I knew he would usually show up in his office at 6am, or a few minutes earlier.  His routine was so predicable that when he was sick or out of town, it felt very odd and lonely to see his door closed knowing that there was no one behind the door.  I felt cheated when he was not in town or on days that I was not able to find my way to his 7^th floor corner office for my daily fix.

 

Dr. Hammer always calmed my nerves, advised me prudently on how to handle a particular situation – professional or personal, and always acted in a caring way and was never judgmental.  I always felt that my day started on the right foot after a few minutes in his office. He never really solved my problems but comforted and calmed me while offering a careful and conservative measured response.  He taught me that doing nothing was often better than doing something and I witnessed proof of this approach time and time again.  He never meddled or tried to micromanage my leadership in the Neonatal Division, but I always sought and appreciated his wisdom and sage advice. 

 

This period of my career as the Director of Neonatology was the most enjoyable, gratifying but simultaneously the most stressful time of my life.  Let it be clear that Dr. Hammar contributed greatly to my success and happiness.  Indeed, he was a great man, a great leader, a great role model and a great human being!  He was also a good friend and I wish very much for his memory to live on………..stay tuned for another blog authored by me to add a little more color to my observations of Dr. Hammar’s life.  I also wish for others to come forward to add their vignettes.