February 2023
PMAH congratulates Ohana Medical Missions on a successful First Charity Ball! Well done!
Saturday, February 18th, 2023 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki
Memorial Weekend CME
Primary Care Updates
Four Seasons Resort at Ko'Olina
May 27-28, 2023
Registration opens March 1, 2023, links will be available on our home page
There will be a group discount for hotel booking, deadline to reserve rooms is April 15, 2023, codes are released after registration payment is received
President's Corner
February is not only the month of Love and Mardis Gras celebrations, it is also American Heart Month. Although I see it everyday in my practice, when I was doing research for this month's newsletter, it really hit me how much we as Filipinos are impacted by heart disease.
Did you know that Filipinos are twice as likely to die of heart related problems vs the rest of the United States population? In 2022, heart disease was the leading cause of death in the Philippines. According to the national institute of aging, coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death for Filipinos, accounting for about 32% of all Filipino deaths. Among Asian populations, Filipinos have the second highest risk of developing CAD. Comorbid inflammatory states, including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, gout and smoking, as well as high prevalence of hypertension in our community are all contributing factors that increase the risk of CAD and heart related deaths in Filipinos.
With such impressive statistics, it's imporant for us as doctors to focus on controlling modifiable risk factors in ourselves as well as our patient population. These including diet, exercise, stress & sleep. Lets continue to strive to be examples of good health habits for the benefit of our patients, families and community.
Aloha!
-Lyla Cachola Prather, MD, PMAH President
Updates
1. On the MONEY front, local legislative bills SB397/HB1367, to raise Medicaid/QUEST pay, and SB1035/HB662, bills to eliminate the GET on healthcare, are moving through the Hawaii Legislature.
Also progressing are the loan repayment (SB164/HB661) and Preceptor Tax Credit (for specialists as well as PCPs SB1215/HB82) bills.
If you want to voice your opinion, itʻs easy to do: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/
2. White Coat Day at the Capitol - Wednesday March 1st. Contact Dr. Grosskreutz at scottgrosskreutz@icloud.com for info.
3. Help us raise Hawaii's Medicare rates! -- We are working with our Federal Legislators to try to get Medicare rates raised. To do this, we need to assess the cost of having a practice in Hawaii. If you own or run a practice, please complete our brief anonymous survey about costs of practicing in Hawaii:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/37RLWDV
Join the PMAH Legislative Committee!
Do you want to know more about what bills are being introduced that potentially affect healthcare in Hawaii?
Are you passionate about advocacy and effecting change in Hawaii's healthcare landscape?
Email PMAHinfo@gmail.com and let us know you're interested, and will pass it along to committee chair, Dr. Jerald Garcia.
News From the Board
Your PMAH board is hard at work, planning, networking and in the community to raise awareness and find new opportunities for our members. We meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month, so if you have a concern, idea to share or a project you’d like to help or support for, please reach out to us before then so we can bring it up at our next board meeting. Reach out to any of us or contact our Executive Director, Rhea Bautista, MD at PMAHinfo@gmail.com.
Salamat Po!
Your PMAH Board of Governors
PMAH Board during the February board meeting
Physician Opportunities
Are you a specialist who is willing to provide telehealth to rural areas of Hawaii? Email kelleywithy@gmail.com for more information.
Do you want to advertise an open position? Do you want to find a job in Hawaii? Do you want to meet a resident who may be interested in joining your practice? Email Your Hawaii Physician Recruiter: Thomas Hao hao4@hawaii.edu
For HMSA formularies, save this link (https://hmsa.com/help-center/your-hmsa-drug-formulary-list/). You can just put the three digit drug code from the patient's HMSA card (DRUG: xxx) and it will tell you which formulary to look at: https://hmsa.com/help-center/your-hmsa-drug-formulary-list/
A Message from the Affiliates
PMAH Foundation continues to be very busy supporting our students as they support each other.
Our premeds (PPMAH / PMAH Outreach) are doing MCAT study sessions together, planning networking events and workshops, and have formed mentorship PODs with our JABSOM medical students (PMSAH), led by a PMAH attending advisor.
Congratulations to UH Manoa Biology premed student Darrell Guittu in being awarded our PMAHF MCAT scholarship. Darrell is a Filipino American who volunteers at the Seafarer's medical clinic and is interested in pediatrics. The MCAT scholarship is a $1000 award that goes towards MCAT prep materials or classes.
We are always looking for physicians from all specialties to provide shadowing, clinical, and/or mentorship opportunities. If you are interested in being involved or just want to learn more, please email us at pmahmentorship@gmail.com. Visit us at https://pmah-hawaii.org/pmahf .
-Marel Ver, MD, PMAH Past President and Foundation Board Member
Foundation board with students at the OMM Gala
Aloha from BCWW! I would like to take this opportunity to thank PMAH and it's members for supporting our organization for the past two decades. BCWW has been dedicated in supporting the healthcare needs of immigrants for more than 20 years now. We also recently supported our sister organization, Ohana Medical Mission, with monetary support related to their recent trip to the Philippines. Our current thrust is a community health fair in HIlo on June 18, 2023. For providers who are interested in serving, there is a travel subsidy that is available, the amount of which the board is in the process of determining. We will also begin a print and radio marketing campaign to make the public aware of BCWW's services. Since the pandemic, our patient numbers have gone down but we hope that providers who see patients who have no health insurance send their claims to BCWW as soon as possible. Lastly, check out BCWW at the Filipino Fiesta on May 6, 2023.
I would also like to highlight a few non-profits that can help care for your uninsured patients:
Rx Outreach has a great program that will provide 90 days of free medication
Our Kupuna has volunteers to help deliver groceries, medication and household supplies (needs a referral letter from PCP to receive services)
Mahalo and Aloha!
-Jay Flores, DPT, BCWW President
Aloha! What a way to start 2023 for Ohana Medical Missions Inc. First, after a 2 year hiatus due to the COVID lockdown, we have successfully conducted our first face to face medical-surgical and optical mission in Payatas, Quezon city and Bagong Silang, Caloocan city in Metro Manila, Philippines on January 13 and January 14 respectively. Second, we had our very First Charity Ball, recently held at Hilton Hawaiian Village on February 18, 2023.
Both of these milestones would not have been possible without the participation of the medical and non-medical community who shared their time, skills and monetary contributions. Your efforts, generosity and continued support has helped OMM reach their goals.
If you are interested in joining a future Medical mission, please call (808) 518-8929 or email OhanaMM2009@gmail.com. Compassion, dedication and patience is all you need. You will definitely have a role and we are looking forward that you will have one of a kind of experience in giving back to the “ least of your brethren.”
So the next time I’ll see you, be ready to pack your bags and go with us.
Mahalo and Mabuhay!
-Ian E. Guerrero, MD, OMM President
COVID Vaccine Information
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/children-teens.html
https://hawaiicovid19.com/vaccine-faqs/
COVID Vaccine Access
https://www.filcomcares.org/events
https://www.oneoahu.org/find-vaccine
https://www.hawaiipacifichealth.org/hph-covid-19-updates/vaccine-update/
PMAH is a proud partner of the FilCom CARES project to provide COVID-19 resources our Filipino Communities.
To subscribe to the FilCom CARES newsletter, click HERE
Follow FilCom CARES on Facebook and Instagram for updates
Interested in becoming a member?
Benefits of PMAH Membership
As a member of the PMAH you will be able to:
1. Engage Filipino healthcare leaders in advancing the health and well-being of communities in Hawaii and abroad.
2. Be allowed to participate in a number of unparalleled networking opportunities to connect with your peers, mentors, and other medical leaders in Hawaii.
3. Attend conventions, seminars, dinners and other related events with like-minded professionals in the field
4. Keep up with the newest developments through our CME Courses and other educational opportunities
5. Become involved with Ohana Medical Missions, providing healthcare and health education to indigent patients in the Philippines, Hawaii, and other countries
Want to be more involved in PMAH?
We welcome and encourage PMAH membership engagement!!
If you have a special interest, please ask us!
We also are always looking for potential new board members.
New ideas, suggestions, concerns, and comments welcome!
Please reach out to us!
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT
DONATE to PMAH and our Affiliates
Due to the pandemic, our usual conferences and other fundraising events for the year were cancelled/postponed/adjusted. Therefore at this time, we rely on donations to fund our projects and operational costs.
Your donations are greatly appreciated !
https://pmah-hawaii.org/take-action
All affiliates are non-profit charitable organizations 501(c)(3).
*When making a donation, please specify in comments preferred use ie general fund, mentorship, etc.
CONTACT US
We'd love to learn about announcements / education / opportunities / events
Please email pmahinfo@gmail.com
