Health awards honor 'world class'
By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer
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The Hawai'i Health Foundation sponsors the Brown & Bakken World Health Awards to showcase Hawai'i's role as a world center for health.
The second annual event will be held this year on Sept. 7 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. (For ticket information, see Page E3.)
"For many years, people have said Hawai'i should be a world center for health, and one way to get the message out, we felt, was to honor people who have done great things in the area of health," said Dr. Terry Shintani, president of the Hawai'i Health Foundation.
Shintani said the Islands are worthy of such a distinction: Hawai'i is consistently the healthiest state in the country in terms of longevity; has the cleanest air, purest water and best weather; has an environment that supports physical activity; boasts a nutritious multicultural cuisine; and blends Western technology with Eastern ancient wisdom and Native Hawaiian healing concepts.
The event is named after Kenneth F. Brown, co-founder of the Hawai'i Health Foundation and former chair of The Queen's Health Systems, and Dr. Earl Bakken, founder of Medtronic, the largest producer of implantable medical devices.
Brown and Bakken share a dream that Hawai'i will become a world-renowned health center.
The Brown & Bakken World Health Awards are given in honor of Brown and Bakken, as well as "Auntie Aggie" Cope, a grand master kumu hula and Native Hawaiian traditional healer.
This year's recipients are "world class," Shintani said. "We're just so fortunate to have these people somehow connected to Hawai'i."
The awards recognize individuals and organizations who have made a positive impact on the health of the community, state and world, organizers said.
The awards and recipients:
Recipient: Wilson Greatbatch, who invented the first successful implantable pacemaker.
Recipients: Dr. Thomas Kosasa and Dr. H. Lorrin Lau. Kosasa is nationally recognized for his work in reproductive technology. Lau's work in the 1950s and 1960s resulted in the development of the world's first affordable pregnancy test.
Recipients: Clinton Churchill, Richard Gushman, David Heenan and Adm. Ronald Zlatoper, trustees of the Estate of James Campbell who are recognized for their community philanthropy.
Recipients: Dr. Diane Cirincione and Dr. Gerald Jampolsky. Cirincione is a therapist and internationally known lecturer, author and entrepreneur. Her husband, Jampolsky, is recognized worldwide as an authority in the fields of psychiatry, health and education.
Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.
