Hawaii Medical Association Names Jeffrey Akaka Physician of the Year

APA Area 7 Trustee Jeffrey Akaka, M.D., was named Physician of the Year by the Hawaii Medical Association (HMA) at a ceremony honoring him in Honolulu in October.

Akaka is known to many in APA as one of the Association’s most vigorous activists and advocates for psychiatric patients and for the profession. Among the numerous positions he has held at APA are speaker of the Assembly and a longtime member of the AMA Section Council on Psychiatry. His passion for advocacy is embedded in his DNA: he hails from a family whose name is well known in Hawaii; his father, the Rev. Abraham Akaka, was a leader in helping prepare Hawaii for statehood, and his uncle, Daniel Akaka, was a U.S. senator from Hawaii from 1990 to 2013.

“All of us at APA are delighted with the Hawaii Medical Association’s recognition of Jeffrey Akaka and the amazing work he does as a clinician and an advocate for patients, psychiatrists, and all of medicine,” said APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A.

Akaka is also an ardent advocate for his home state. He is known affectionately among APA leaders and staff for the apparently bottomless supply of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts in his jacket pocket, which he slips into every hand he shakes.

“Dr. Akaka is arguably one of the most energetic, enthusiastic community activists we have ever had at HMA,” HMA President Scott McCaffrey, M.D., told Psychiatric News. “He is not only famous for his tenacious lobbying style, but probably should also receive an award from the Hawaii Tourism Authority for promoting Hawaii as a destination site for medical professional associations and societies everywhere.”

The ceremony in October was attended by AMA immediate past President Steven Stack, M.D., among other national and state physician leaders.

“I have known and worked with Jeff for many years, first meeting in Washington, D.C., during our work on Capitol Hill for APA advocating for those with mental illness, and later here in Hawaii in the Department of Health, the Hawaii Psychiatric Medical Association (HPMA), and the HMA,” said HPMA President Michael Champion, M.D., in comments introducing Akaka at the ceremony. “Back then, I too was one of those people who experienced this ambassador of Aloha whose first handshake left me with a palmful of chocolate-covered macademia nuts. At the time, I thought, I need to pay attention to what this man has to say.”

Akaka was deeply influenced by his father, who “taught him the lesson of living by example and standing for what you believe in,” Champion said. “He has continued that tradition to this day.

“He works around the clock to stand up for others and give a voice to those who are challenged to find theirs due to struggles with mental illness,” he continued. “Jeff does all of this behind the scenes with humility, spending countless hours and burning many late-night candles, preoccupied with how best to serve—not for the recognition or to shine light on himself [but] because he believes it is the right thing to do.”

Akaka completed his psychiatry residency at the former St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan (under then Psychiatry Department Chair Joseph T. English, M.D., a past president of APA). Later he returned to Honolulu with his wife, Gayln, and young family to work as a community psychiatrist, first in Wai’anae and then at the Diamond Head Community Mental Health Center (DHCMHC). Since 1993, Akaka has been medical director of the DHCMHC.

In addition to his APA work, he is a past president of the HPMA and has served on its Executive Council since 1993 and is a member of its Legislative Committee. In 2000, he was appointed by then-President Bill Clinton to the President’s Committee on Mental Retardation.

In remarks following his introduction, Akaka spoke about the example his father and uncle set and quoted a sermon—famous in Hawaii—in which his father described the “Aloha spirit” as one of unconditional love and regard for one’s fellow human beings. In that sermon, Rev. Akaka expressed the wish that the new state of Hawaii would be known as “The Aloha State,” which did in fact become the state’s official motto.

“All of you here tonight—physicians, young people training to be physicians, and partners of physicians know what Aloha means because you are constantly dedicating yourselves to the betterment of others, with no conditions attached,” Akaka said at the ceremony. “Unconditional regard for our fellow human beings—that’s the epitome of Aloha. And that’s why every single one of you deserves to be proud of being a member of this exemplary profession.” ■