JAnuAry 10, 2015 hAwAii fiLiPino chronicLe 1 ♦ JANUARY 10, 2015 ♦ CANDID PERSPECTIVES PHILIPPINE NEWS MAINLAND NEWS MAriotA’s isLAnd Pride Lower AirfAres fiLiPinA nAMed Bests winston’s in seen As fueL cALiforniA stAte More wAys thAn one surchArge Lifted teAcher of the yeAr PRESORTED HAWAII FILIPINO CHRONICLE STANDARD 94-356 WAIPAHU DEPOT RD., 2ND FLR. U.S. POSTAGE WAIPAHU, HI 96797 PAID HONOLULU, HI PERMIT NO. 9661 2 hAwAii fiLiPino chronicLe JAnuAry 10, 2015 EDITORIALS FROM THE PUBLISHER Publisher & Executive Editor appy 2015—the Year of the Charlie Y. Sonido, M.D. Addressing the Filipino Ram! We trust that you had a Publisher & Managing Editor joyous Holiday Season with Chona A. Montesines-Sonido Physician Shortage family and friends. Commuters Associate Editors enjoyed a reprieve from traffic he ‘Ekahi Health System, through the ‘Ekahi In- H Dennis Galolo tegrated Practices and ‘Ekahi Urgent Care, during the Christmas break, but Edwin Quinabo opened a new clinic in Waipahu which is a crucial with public schools and the University of Contributing Editor step towards addressing the shortage of physi- Hawaii-Manoa resuming classes on January Belinda Aquino, Ph.D. T cians in Hawaii, particularly for Filipino doctors. 12th, expect gridlock to resume. This means leaving home a Creative Designer According to statistics from the University of little earlier and allowing more time for our commute. Junggoi Peralta Hawaii, the state is about 750 physicians short of the number In the political arena, Gov. David Ige begins his term and Photography that should be treating patients, based on Hawaii’s overall pop- is still assembling members of his cabinet, which includes re- Tim Llena ulation. cent appointees Jade Butay and Randy Baldemor (see “Ige Ap- Administrative Assistant Shalimar Pagulayan The problem is particularly worrisome for Filipino physi- points Two Filipinos to Cabinet” on page 6). The cians in Hawaii, a good number of whom are international Democrat-controlled State Legislature convenes on January Columnists 21, 2015 and will be dealing with such issues as the economy, Carlota Hufana Ader medical graduates (IMGs) educated in the Philippines and Emil Guillermo trained in the U.S. Their ranks continue to dwindle as many education, domestic violence and prison reform. The Senate is Ruth Elynia Mabanglo, Ph.D. of them are nearing retirement age and have few, if any, suc- led by President Donna Mercado Kim and Vice President Will Ron Menor J.P. Orias cessors available. Of the 2,795 documented full-time physi- Espero, while the House is headed by Speaker Joe Souki and Pacita Saludes cians in Hawaii, an estimated 150, or a paltry 5.3 percent, are Vice Speaker John Mizuno. Reuben S. Seguritan, Esq. of Filipino ancestry. This equates to roughly 2,280 patients of On the City side, the Council hit the New Year running, Charlie Sonido, M.D. having held an inauguration ceremony for its newly-elected Emmanuel S. Tipon, Esq. Filipino- or part-Filipino ancestry for every Filipino physician. Felino S. Tubera With less immigrant Filipino physicians anticipated in the members on January 2, 2015. On an interesting note, four of Sylvia Yuen, Ph.D. years to come, groups like the Philippine Medical Association the nine councilmembers are of Filipino ancestry—Brandon Contributing Writers of Hawaii (PMAH) and ‘Ekahi Integrated Practices are taking Elefante, Joey Manahan, Ron Menor and Kymberly Pine. The Clement Bautista measures to boost the numbers of Filipino physicians. Council will be working with Mayor Kirk Caldwell in the com- Teresita Bernales, Ed.D PMAH’s mentorship program allows students of Filipino an- ing months on passing a balanced City budget for the next fis- Serafin Colmenares, Jr., Ph.D. cal year, scrutinizing the rail project’s finances, and dealing Julia Crowley cestry to shadow physicians from various backgrounds and Linda Dela Cruz specialties, while ‘Ekahi Integrated Practices is actively re- with homelessness and other important matters. Fiedes Doctor cruiting recent graduates of residency training programs both Our cover story for this first issue of 2015 is about the Danny De Gracia, II, MA opening of the new ‘Ekahi Urgent Care Clinic in Waipahu and Carolyn Weygan-Hildebrand here and on the mainland to come to Hawaii. Studies show Amelia Jacang, M.D. that minority patients, particularly immigrants from under- the impact that the shortage of Filipino physicians in Hawaii Caroline Julian served communities like Waipahu and Kalihi, overwhelmingly is having on the Filipino community. With other states experi- Federico Magdalena, Ph.D. Deborah T. Manog prefer seeing a physician of their same ethnicity based on com- encing similar physician shortages, the competition to attract Maita Milallos munication, cultural and other reasons. new doctors fresh out of residency programs has heated up. Paul Melvin Palalay, M.D. The ‘Ekahi Urgent Care clinic is not only conducive for Turn to page 4 and find out what the new ‘Ekahi Integrated Seneca Moraleda-Puguan Lilia Q. Santiago, Ph.D. those needing to see a physician after normal business hours, Practices, the Philippine Medical Association of Hawaii Jay Valdez, Psy.D. its facilities support Filipino physicians by accommodating (PMAH) and other medical groups are doing to meet the de- Glenn Wakai their patients on weekends, holidays and whenever they go on mand for physicians. Amado Yoro vacation. An added bonus is that the clinic’s staff speak Taga- In closing, we do not know what the New Year holds but Philippine Correspondent Greg Garcia log and Ilocano and are culturally sensitive to patients’ needs. the Chronicle will be here to provide you with timely and in- Big Island Distributor A third component of the ‘Ekahi Health System is ‘Ekahi formative news that you can use. We wish our readers and ad- Grace Larson Care Management, which provides disease management, care vertisers a very blessed and bountiful 2015 and that all of your Ditas Udani management and well-being strategies. All three work as an resolutions for the New Year will hold true. Maui Distributor innovative healthcare delivery organization that unifies inde- Until next time…aloha and mabuhay! Cecile Piros Molokai Distributor pendent physician practices, urgent care clinics and care man- Maria Watanabe agement teams. ‘Ekahi in fact means “one” in Hawaiian and Advertising/Marketing Director embodies the company’s innovative approach to delivering Chona A. Montesines-Sonido quality healthcare. Congratulations to the ‘Ekahi Health Sys- HR 5859 or the Ukraine Freedom Support Act. For the first Account Executives tem on the opening of the urgent care clinic in Waipahu. We time, this legislation authorizes the U.S. to provide military aid Carlota Hufana Ader J.P. Orias wish the company much success in its efforts to improve the to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, ammunition and troop- The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle is published health and well-being of our communities. operated surveillance drones. It could in essence, put both su- weekly by The Hawaii Filipino Chronicle Inc. It is mailed directly to subscribers and dis- perpowers directly head-to-head in military armed conflict. The tributed at various outlets around Oahu and Ukraine Freedom Support Act also expands existing sanctions the neighbor islands. Editorial and advertis- ing deadlines are three weeks prior to pub- and sets new ones to hurt Russia’s defense and energy sectors. lication date. Subscriptions are available at Congress is Reckless $75 per year for Oahu and the neighbor is- One very curious and odd part of the Act would require lands, continental U.S. $80, foreign country $90. Copyright 2006-2014. The Hawaii Fil- sanctions be placed on Russia’s OAO Gazprom (GAZP), the ipino Chronicle Inc. is located at 94-356 in Passing New Waipahu Depot, Waipahu, HI 96797. Tele- world’s largest extractor of natural gas, if GAZP withholds sup- phone (808) 678-8930 Facsimile (808) 678- plies to other European nations. Could this very well be another 1829. E-mail [email protected]. Ukraine Freedom Act Website: www.thefilipinochronicle.com. chapter in the U.S. and Western Europe’s old storyline of enter- Opinions expressed by the columnists and contributors do not necessarily reflect those ongress passed one of the most dangerous and po- ing into a conflict over oil and natural resources? of the Hawaii Filipino Chronicle manage- ment. Reproduction of the contents in whole tentially miscalculated pieces of legislation to end Congress’ justification for the passage of the Ukraine Free- or in part is prohibited without written per- mission from the management. All rights re- 2014. dom Support Act is to affirm the U.S.’s commitment to Ukrain- served. Printed in the U.S.A. As if tension between Russia and the U.S. isn’t ian sovereignty and to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin www.thefilipinochronicle.com C already alarming with threats of outright war and for his annexation of the pro-Russian parts of Ukraine into Rus- www.efilipinochronicle.com nuclear weapons already being positioned by both sia. MeMber, Society of ProfeSSional JournaliStS sides throughout Europe, Congress upped the ante by passing (continued on page 3) JAnuAry 10, 2015 hAwAii fiLiPino chronicLe 3 COMMENTARY Now It’s Time to Focus on Growing the Economy By Lee H. Hamilton end of the recession — and support another tax cut or the everyone, through research well — that wastes money, the gap between the wealthy next move to stimulate the and development, job train- fails its regulatory responsibil- ecent economic and the rest of us is wider economy in the short term. ing, upgrading skills as well ities, and cannot make timely news has been than ever. Now is the time for policy- as technology, and reducing decisions — undermines eco- broadly reassur- Strong numbers do, how- makers to resist this and try to outsourcing.