1. V. 24 • No. 18 • Apr. 27, 2015
(Continued on Page 2)
Volunteers Personify Language of Caring at Queen’s
“OuR QuEEN’S vol-
unteers give from the
heart,” said QMC trust-
ee Robb Ohtani, MD,
at the annual Volunteer
Appreciation Luncheon
held on friday, April 17
at the Hale koa Hotel.
“you are an important
part of The Queen’s Medical Center, and
are sometimes the very first person pa-
tients and visitors see. you set the tone.
Other times you quietly work behind the
scenes, but are still essential. Personally,
as a physician, I think your work has been
entwined with mine for many years. The
caps you knit for newborns I have deliv-
ered become treasured family heirlooms.
And just recently, I know of a family mem-
ber of one of my patients who was put at
ease in the surgery waiting room by a few
kind words from a volunteer.”
Stories like Dr. Ohtani’s happen every
day, but they are anything but common-
place. The dedication and commitment
of Queen’s volunteers is part of the QMC
standard of putting patients first. Volun-
teers serve in 107 different units and de-
partments throughout Queen’s, tackling
over 1,000 special projects a year in addi-
tion to their daily assignments. They deliv-
ered over 2,100 flower arrangements and
transported over 8,100 patients, with 6,400
of those being discharges. Healing Touch/
Reiki volunteers provided 665 hands-on
treatments to patients, and an additional
204 to QMC staff. Though our volunteers
truly are priceless, Sharlene Tsuda, QHS
Vice President, Community Development,
estimated the value of the 58,000 hours of
time donated by volunteers to be worth
approximately $1.4 million.
Art ushijima, QHS/QMC President,
said, “As we celebrate your generous
contributions of time and talent over the
past year, we also remember the excite-
ment of preparing to open the doors
of The Queen’s Medical Center–West
O‘ahu. Many of you helped, and some of
you transferred to West and found a new
facility waiting for you to share your aloha.
How wonderful to have you all together
here today in celebration.”
The luncheon was complimented by an
opening oli from Diane Paloma, PhD, direc-
tor, QHS Native Hawaiian Health and gen-
tle harp music from volunteers Marci Prins
and kevin Roddy. Queen’s VPs mingled
among the guests and lunch conversations
were lively and personal. It was a time to
enjoy old friends and make new ones too.
As the dessert course was served, it
was time for the tradition of recognizing
Art Ushijima

2. Volunteers Honored
(Continued from page 1.)
individuals for the number of hours each
has volunteered. Hour awards ranged from
100 hours all the way up to 17,000 (re-
tired QMC RN Bea kam). Members of the
1-500 Plus Club were also recognized for
volunteering over 500 hours between April
1, 2014 and March 31, 2015. There were 15
members of that exclusive, extremely dedi-
cated and much appreciated group. Ad-
ditionally, volunteers were recognized for
the number of years they have dedicated
to Queen’s, a range that starts when they
hit five years and went all the way up to the
40-plus years given by June Anderson.
The Ho‘omau Award recognizes vol-
unteer longevity and comes from the
Connie Black Volunteer fund established
by Queen’s Senior VP Paula yoshioka to
honor Mrs. Black’s many years of volun-
teer service. faye uno is the 2015 recipi-
ent. faye can frequently be found at the
Nalani Information desk or helping out in
fleetwing. She has been a QMC volun-
teer for the past 26 years, donating al-
most 6,000 hours of service. The former
teacher is a top evaluator, an effective
trainer, and a skilled seamstress. She is
also a genuinely kind and gracious lady.
The kokua Po‘okela Awards for out-
standing volunteer service was estab-
lished by former Queen’s VP karen Mu-
ranaka in memory of her parents Junichi
and kimie Muranaka. Nominees must
have served Queen’s for at least 200
hours in the course of one year and dem-
onstrate compassion and a commitment
to teamwork. The student volunteer hon-
oree this year is Chester Hui. Chester is
enthusiastic and always willing to help.
He has volunteered at Queen’s Heart and
in the ICu, and is now assigned to fleet-
wing. When he began volunteering, his
interest was in pharmacy, but now he is
considering medicine and will pursue that
interest this summer at Stanford. Chester
was accompanied by his dad Charles, his
mom Christine and his step-dad, kevin
kwan, who works in Biomed at QMC.
The adult kokua Po‘okela awardee is
francis Bueno. francis is known for his
welcoming smile, boundless energy, and
service above and beyond what is asked.
He started as a fleetwing volunteer at
the Honolulu campus and then added
QMC-West O‘ahu to his routine, serving
as part of the transition team and partici-
pating in the Day in the Life exercises. He
now serves West O‘ahu exclusively and
staff say they feel blessed to have him on
their team. francis also volunteered for
Queen’s during the RIMPAC exercises.
He was accompanied to the luncheon by
his son and daughter Neal and Cassie,
and his granddaughter Cianni.
“The patient care experience is a core
priority,” Dr. Ohtani remarked. “It is so im-
portant that we have hired consultants
to guide us, but my feeling is that each
[volunteer] personifies the Queen’s Lan-
guage of Caring, and that we can all look
to emulate you. your contributions cannot
be overstated. you make a difference.”
QMC–WO volunteer Melanie Demaria is
thanked by Dr. Ohtani.
Kevin and Christine Kwan, Art Ushijima,
Chester and Charles Hui, and Dr. Ohtani.
Art, Cassie, Cianni, Francis, Neal, Andrea Wil-
burn of QMC–WO, and Dr. Ohtani.
Faye Uno Chester Hui Francis Bueno
1-500 Plus Club honorees with VPs standing in support behind.

3. Screening Brings
Awareness to Head,
Neck & Oral Cancers
IT WAS A HuGE SuCCESS, especially for
a first-time event. Eighty-nine employees
came out to the Na‘ea Courtyard on a
hot day for the first annual Head & Neck
Cancer Screening. Put on by the Queen’s
Head & Neck Institute, the screening was
designed to detect and promote aware-
ness of the early signs and symptoms of
oral, head, and neck cancers—and to get
the word out that early detection is im-
portant. According to a 2013 survey, the
majority of people in both Europe and u.S.
were not aware or knew little about these
types of cancers. The plan is to add head
and neck cancer screening to the list of
other well-known annual screenings like
those for colon and skin cancers, said
Stephanie Guy, RN, Clinical Operations
Manager of the Head & Neck Institute.
There are over 50,000 new cases and
12,000 deaths a year of oral, head, and
neck cancers in the u.S. (excluding thy-
roid). Oral, head, and neck cancers are any
cancer in the head and neck excluding the
brain. They include cancers of the mouth,
IT SEEMS LIkE EVERy fIfTH
movie or TV show that
comes out nowadays is
about some Marvel super-
hero. Well, we have our
own superheroes at Queen’s who wear
lab coats instead of capes. These behind-
the-scenes superheroes were celebrated
last week for National Medical Laboratory
Professionals Week.
About 90% of medical decisions are
based on laboratory tests. Hence, there
are quite a few laboratory professionals
at Queen’s—about 70 in Pathology who
examine solid tissue, and 150 in the DLS
Stat Lab who analyze bodily fluids. They
celebrated each day of their week with
• Sore in your mouth that doesn’t
heal or increases in size
• Persistent pain in your mouth
• Lumps or white or red patches
inside your mouth
• Thickening of your cheek
• Difficulty chewing, swallowing, or
moving your tongue
• Changes in your voice
• Lump in your neck
• Bad breath
• Difficulty moving your jaw, or
swelling of pain in your jaw
If you have any of these symptoms,
see your doctor or call the Queen’s
Head & Neck Institute at 691-7215.
Signs & Symptoms of
Oral, Head & Neck Cancer
Mark Greer, DMD, Stephanie Guy, RN, Daniel
Alam, MD, and Christopher Klem, MD
Dr. Klem gives QDC Admin Secretary Katrina Mateo a head and neck exam.
skin, throat, salivary glands, neck, and thy-
roid. Oral cancers are the most common.
four doctors performed the exams:
Mark Greer, DMD, Director of the Den-
tal Clinic, Jaclyn Palola, DMD, Dental
Clinic, and Daniel Alam, MD, and Chris-
topher klem, MD of the Head & Neck
Institute. They checked each person’s
skin, ears, nose, mouth, oropharynx, sal-
ivary glands, thyroid glands, and neck.
Each participant also filled out a ques-
tionnaire designed to uncover any po-
tential problems or warning signs.
Celebrating
Everyday
Med Lab
Superheroes
food and games, injecting some fun into
very serious and disciplined work.
Technologist Christine Nakamoto decorated
Pathology’s ‘Iolani 4 entry doors to capture
this year’s theme.

4. The Queen’s Health Systems consists of The
Queen’s Medical Center, The Queen’s Medical
Center – West O’ahu, The Queen’s Health Care
Centers, Queen Emma Land Company, Queen’s
Development Corporation, Queen’s Insurance
Exchange, Inc., Moloka‘i General Hospital and
North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, and has
ownership interests in CareResource Hawai‘i,
Hamamatsu/Queen’s PET Imaging Center, and
Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc.
The Queen’s Print Connection is pub-
lished by Creative Services. If you have
news or wish to opine, call 691-7532 or
email jkimura@queens.org. The news
deadline is Monday prior to publication.
QHS/QMC Pres. . . . . . . . Art Ushijima
Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Keala Peters
Editor/Writer. . . . . . . . . . Jason Kimura
Assist. Ed./Writer. . . . . Glee Stormont
NHCH Contributor. . . Krista Anderson
queens.org
The Queen’s Health Systems is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit corporation
Language of Caring sessions are now
being held for all employees at QMC in
Honolulu. The initial two-hour jumpstart
training session schedule is posted on-
line, and registration may be done via the
Queen’s Intranet at eww.queens.org/se/
reg/classinfo.asp.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Board of Water Supply has fin-
ished the repairs to the water line under
Miller Street. On Thursday, April 30, Mill-
er Street will again be closed from 8:00
am - 2:00 pm for roadway resurfacing.
ED ambulance access from Punchbowl
Street will not be affected. Access to the
Miller Garage can be made from QMC’s
front entrance via the tunnel or from the
Miller Street entrance via Vineyard Bou-
levard. Access to the Service Road via
the Vineyard Boulevard entrance to Miller
Street will not be affected.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Next Fitbit challenge will run
Monday, May 4 to Sunday, June 14. To
participate, please be sure that your Fit-
Bit is synched to your HMSA Well-Being
Connect (WBC) account (www.hmsa.
com/myaccount.) Then be sure to en-
gage your Step Tracker on Monday, May
4 to start tracking your steps. Join the
Challenge via the Groups & Challenges
tab on the HMSA WBC site. The chal-
lenge lasts six weeks and entails walk-
ing 50,000 steps a week for the first two
weeks; 60,000 steps on weeks three and
four; and 70,000 steps on weeks five and
six. Successful completion of the Chal-
lenge requirements will enter you in a
prize drawing. This Challenge qualifies as
one of the cost incentive Wellness Activ-
ity requirements. For more information,
call the HR Service Center at 691-4627.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Work on Wellness (WOW) credit can be
achieved by participating in the following
classes offered at the Queen’s Women’s
Health Center in Honolulu: Body Shaping,
Employee Hula, Jazzercise, Kickboxing Fit-
ness, Posture/Flexibility with Fitness Cue,
Tai Chi, or Yoga Basics. The Employee Hula
class is free of charge, Body Shaping is $65
for 10 class sessions, all others are $66 for
six class sessions. To register, call 691-7117.
To earn your WOW credit, you must log-
in through the Well-Being Connect site at
hmsa.com. For more information, email tt-
autoa@queens.org.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“kidney transplants: How to Save a
Life,” a free Speaking of Health communi-
ty lecture, will be presented on Wednes-
day, April 29, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm at the
Queen’s Conference Center in Honolulu.
Join transplant surgeon Makoto Ogihara,
MD, the Queen’s Transplant Team, and
living donors as they share their stories
about the transplant experience. Register
at www.queens.org by clicking “Attend a
Class” or call 691-7117.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
“Improving the Health Response to
Domestic Violence: Advocacy, Dynam-
ics and Patient Safety,” a Project Connect
session presented by the Native Hawai-
ian Health Program & Futures Without
Violence, will be held on Tuesday, April 28,
from 12:30 – 4:30 pm in the Kamehameha
Auditorium. The session will cover how do-
mestic and sexual violence affects health
outcomes; how cultural trauma impacts
health care delivery; and applying best
practices to clinical settings, including the
use of “safety cards.” This activity is desig-
nated for 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Cred-
its.TM
Space is limited, and attendees may
bring their own lunches. To RSVP, contact
Kalani Kaanaana at 691-7010 or at kakaa-
naana@queens.org.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mindfulness Meditation sessions will
be offered by the Integrative Wellness
Team and Hospital Ministry from 12:00
– 12:30 pm every Friday beginning with
May 1. Sessions will be held in the QET
4 chapel. These guided meditation ses-
sions will focus on connecting to the
breath and learning to bring the mind to
the present moment. By cultivating spa-
cious self-awareness, mindfulness medi-
tation practice can instill a sense of peace
into the busy and challenging demands
of day-to-day living. All staff and physi-
cians are welcome. For more information,
call the Integrative Wellness Team at 450-
1989 or Hospital Ministry at 691-4463.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The 27th annual NHCH Senior health
fair will be held on Sunday, May 3, from
8:00 am - 2:00 pm at the Lucy Henriques
building at North Hawai‘i Community Hos-
pital. The fair offers seniors health informa-
tion and screenings, plus complimentary
lunch, bingo, giveaways and more.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
North hawai‘i community hospital
(NHCH) brought nine teams to the 32nd
annual Business Canoe Regatta in Hilo
on Sunday, April 12. The teams were a
mix of doctors, nurses, consultants, ad-
ministrators, rehab, trauma, lab person-
nel, and family members. The open mixed
and open teen mixed teams each took
third place; the intermediate women took
fifth and the business men’s team made
it to the semifinals. Congrats all.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Keith Wallace, Fidelity Workplace Plan-
ning and Guidance Consultant, would
love to help you with your individual plan-
ning needs. Call: 1-800-642-7131 or visit
www.fidelity.com/atwork/reservations.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
April spa specials at the Queen’s Wom-
en’s Health Center in Honolulu are: $59
for a 50 minute massage or facial, or $32
for a 25 minute massage or facial. Call
691-7734 to book an appointment.