SPSA BOARD MEETS, CANADA NEXT CME SITE

The Society of Philippine Surgeons in America held its annual spring board meeting aboard S.S. Isabel during a scheduled cruise along the Duororiver in Portugal. The Board decided among other things to hold the next CME meeting in Nova Scotia, Canada next July 2014 at a hotel/resort area not too far away from former SPSA president Bayani Ignacio, MD and his wife, Cora Ignacio’s residence. The couple have agreed to host the meeting. The venue was chosen over the city in Germany which was initially proposed by incoming SPSA President, Ed Navarro, MD who lives in Germany.

Aboard the ship which never sailed off the port of Porto because of the swollen Duoro River caused by continuous rain, the Society also held a CME meeting which qualified for an ACCME category 2 credits. Speakers during the symposium included Mel Simon, MD, Celia Ona, MD, FerdieOna,MD, Edward Quiros,MD, Ed Navarro,MD and Ralph Zaragoza, MD. The program was planned and moderated by SPSA’s CME chairman, Dr. Ben Zamora.

Meanwhile, the Board also discussed the coming CME annual meeting in Alaska, the next surgical mission venue in the Philippines presently being arranged by Manny Cacdac, MD, the financial status of the Society, and the next spring meeting in 2014.

The group were bussed to the places in Portugal and Spain which the cruise was supposed to have traveled and meandered through but for the strong river currents and the locks which were closed because of the rains. Six couples took and extended land tour in Spain after the river cruise ended.

Cacdac and Velchek receives Phil. Presidential Award This is a historic day for the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America. Two members, both Past Presidents of the Society were given the Presidential award for Filipino individuals or organizations overseas. This biennial award is given to deserving individuals and or organizations to recognize their contribution to Phil. development and progress and promote the interest of Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad.

Dr. Manuel A. Cacdac was awarded the LINKAPIL (Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino), award for his humanitarian endeavors with bringing surgical missions to different parts of the Philippines once or twice a year and for founding the Hydrocephalus Foundation of the Philippines. President Benigno Aquino recognizes the significance of his professional contribution that has resulted in an increase awareness of hydrocephalus and thereby improving the lives of afflicted Filipino babies, giving them a chance to be normal human beings. Dr. Cacdac was also a BPinoy awardee in 2010, The Most outstanding Indiana Filipino Physician of the Year in 2011, The Most Outstanding Alumnus for Community Service Award, USTMAAA in 2012. He was nominated for CNN Heroes and the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2012.

Dr. Francisca Tolete-Velchek, was awarded the Pamana Ng Pilipino Award which is conferred to Filipinos overseas who, in exemplifying the talent and industry of the Filipino, have brought the country honor and recognition through excellence and distinction in the pursuit of their work or profession. She was one of eleven awardees. in this category. Dr. Velchek is a Professor of Surgery at The Downstate Medical Center and Chief of Pediatric Surgery at the Long Island College Hospital, Attending Pediatric Surgeon at the Lenox Hill Hospital, and visiting professor of surgery at the Univ. of the Phil., where she graduated from. She has many accomplishments, written books and medical articles, and many awards. In conferring this ward , the President recognizes her outstanding achievement as a doctor of medicine and academician in the field of Pediatric Surgery in the United States....SPSA BOARD MEETS, CANADA NEXT CME SITE

The Society of Philippine Surgeons in America held its annual spring board meeting aboard S.S. Isabel during a scheduled cruise along the Duororiver in Portugal. The Board decided among other things to hold the next CME meeting in Nova Scotia, Canada next July 2014 at a hotel/resort area not too far away from former SPSA president Bayani Ignacio, MD and his wife, Cora Ignacio’s residence. The couple have agreed to host the meeting. The venue was chosen over the city in Germany which was initially proposed by incoming SPSA President, Ed Navarro, MD who lives in Germany.

Aboard the ship which never sailed off the port of Porto because of the swollen Duoro River caused by continuous rain, the Society also held a CME meeting which qualified for an ACCME category 2 credits. Speakers during the symposium included Mel Simon, MD, Celia Ona, MD, FerdieOna,MD, Edward Quiros,MD, Ed Navarro,MD and Ralph Zaragoza, MD. The program was planned and moderated by SPSA’s CME chairman, Dr. Ben Zamora.

Meanwhile, the Board also discussed the coming CME annual meeting in Alaska, the next surgical mission venue in the Philippines presently being arranged by Manny Cacdac, MD, the financial status of the Society, and the next spring meeting in 2014.

The group were bussed to the places in Portugal and Spain which the cruise was supposed to have traveled and meandered through but for the strong river currents and the locks which were closed because of the rains. Six couples took and extended land tour in Spain after the river cruise ended.

SPSA Officer Passes Away

Hector Soto, MD FACS, a member of the SPSA Board of Governors, passed away last week. He was 72 years old and has practiced Orthopedic surgery for more than 48 years in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Dr. Soto was a 1964 graduate of University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. He did his postgraduate training at Elizabeth General Hospital and his residency in Stamford Hospital in Connecticut and Worcester City Hospital in Massachussetts. He was board certified in Orthopedic surgery.

Dr. Soto was very active fellow of the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America. The Society will surely miss him in the many activities he had involved himself in the Society. He is survived by his wife, Lourdes.

SPSA Hosts Confab on its 40th Anniversary

The Society of Philippine Surgeons in America celebrated its 40th anniversary by hosting a symposium on medical and surgical missions to the Philippines, September 30 at the Chicago Marriott Hotel. The event was held during the American College of Surgeons’ annual Congress in Chicago September 29-October 4 2012. The meeting was organized by Hernan Reyes, MD FACS, the Society’s founder and was arranged by Dr. Manny Cacdac, SPSA’s convention chairman. Past presidents of the Society which included Danny Fabito, MD FACS, Pacifico Dorado, MD FACS, Mel Simon, MD FACS, Bayani Ignacio, MD FACS and Johnny Montero, MD FACS, and Frances Velchek, MD FACS were invited to speak on surgical missions to the Philippines and the recent impact of the Philippine Regulatory Commission’s directives on foreign medical and surgical missions to the country.

Dr. Reyes and CME chair Dr. Zamora moderated the panel. The meeting was attended by invited dignitaries from the Philippines which included Dr. Enrique Ona, Secretary of Health, Dr. Rey Melchor Santos, past PCS and PMA president, current Philippine College of Surgeons’president Dr. Maximino Simbulan, former ACS Governor, Philippine chapter Dr. Ben Gaddi. Dr. Enrique Ona, MD FACS and a transplant surgeon was honored with Honorary Fellowship Award, by the American College of Surgeons, the first Filipino surgeon bestowed this prestigious honor. A guest of honor at this symposium, he gave a talk on the state of health care in the Philippines and what his department has done and plans for the future of health care in the Philippines. He also assured that he would look into the recent PRC directives and work on making foreign surgical and medical missions in the country continue. Dr. Rey Santos discussed the problems associated with the foreign surgical and medical missions in the Philippines as it relates to the local physicians and surgeons. The symposium was preceded by the SPSA Board of Governors meeting during which the upcoming Ormoc City surgical mission on January 20-26 2013, the Portugal/Spain spring cruise and the Annual CME meeting, among other agenda were discussed.

Cacdac USTMAA Awardee



Manuel Cacdac, MD, a neurosurgeon from Terre Haute, Indiana was recently awarded the Most Outstanding Alumnus for Community Service during the last USTMAAA Annual Meeting at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, August 18-21, 2012.

Dr. Cacdac, a past president of SPSA and presently a co-chair of the Society’s surgical mission, is also the founder of the Hydrocephalus Foundation of the Philippines. Dr. Cacdac has been involved in surgical missions to the underserved areas and continues to work on hydrocephalic babies  in the Philippines .

He has been a recipent of numerous awards for his charitable work including Indiana’s Physician of the Year and the prestigious BPinoy Award given in the Philippines to Filipinos who have distinguished themselves in their chosen profession.

Michigan Surgeon SPSA's 37th President

Leo M. Madarang, MD, a Michign surgeon was installed as SPSA's 37th President during the Society's Annual CME Meeting Seminar in Surgery, July 11-15 2012 in Orlando, Florida.

Leo graduated from the University of Santo Tomas in 1971. He did his internship at St, Joseph Hospital and then his residency in General Surgery and Trauma at Hurley Medical Center. He served as Chief of Surgery at Genesee Memorial Hospital in Flint, Michigan and Wheelock Memorial Hospital in Goodrich, Michigan. He is in practice as a general surgeon and as a wound care specialist and hyperbarist at McLaren Regional Medical Center in Flint, Michigan. He is married to his wife of 40 years, Maria Teresa. They have 4 children-- Angela Joyce, a paralegal, Candice, a Director of Restaurants and Marriott, Michelle, a registered nurse, and Leo, Jr., a lawyer. The new SPSA president plays golf, collects classic comic books and enjoys traveling. The group is scheduled to have another surgical mission, tentatively set on the third or the last week of January 2013.

Dr. Michael Nussbaum SPSA’s 38th Annual CME Education Seminar in Surgery Professorial Lecturer

Michael S. Nussbaum, MD FACS, Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery, University of Florida College of Medicine, Jacksonville will the Professorial Lecturer July 13, 2012 during the SPSA’s 38th Annual Continuing Medical Education in Seminar in Surgery in Orlando, Florida. He will be speaking on “Laparoscopic Management of Common Bile Duct Stones”. Dr. Nussbaum who is also the Surgeon-in-Chief at Shands Jacksonville Hospital and Program Director of the Surgery Residency Program at UFCM, Jacksonville has been named one of the Best Doctors in America since 2009.

He will be joined during by a number of distinguished guests and SPSA faculty during the Society’s 3- day seminar the theme of which is “Standards of Surgical Practice 2012, Diagnosis, Management and New Techniques”.

Benjamin Zamora, MD FACS, SPSA’s CME Committee Chairman says that all the speakers are known experts in their respective specialties. The educational activity has been designated by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide 16 credits in Category One of the AMA Physicians Recognition Award. For registration and inquiries, call 843. 243.0369

Calbayog Mission Ends on a Positive Note

SPSA’s surgical mission to Calbayog last November 28 to December 5 2011 ended on a strongly positive note despite the fewer number of missionaries compared to the two previous missions there in 2006. Working at three different venues, most of  which were done at St. Camillus Hospital, the team performed 111 major surgeries, 128 minors and 665 dental procedures over five and half days.

The mission was sponsored by Congressman Mel Sarmiento and Calbayog City Mayor Aquino.
For the new members of the surgical team as well as the ‘veteran’ missionaries led by Dr. Manny Cacdac, it was a moving and overwhelming experience.

The group is scheduled to have another surgical mission, tentatively set on the third or the last week of January 2013.

SPSA CME Re-Accredited

The Society of Philippine Surgeons in America now belongs to a select few, out of several hundreds of providers of continuing medical education in the country, having received the highest rating on its 2011 re-accreditation application. Dr. Benjamin Zamora, the Society’s CME chairman proudly announced that SPSA was given a 6-year full accreditation  to expire on November 30, 2017 by the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education. Dr. Zamora stated that  “In our 38 years of accreditation with ACCME, we have always achieved the standard 4-year accreditation which means compliance to all required elements”

Dr. Zamora and his wife Mary Zamora, RN, the Society’s Coordinator who worked hard on the re-application process for several months, received the notification letter and the certificate from Murray Kopelow, MD, MS, the ACCME Chief Executive Officer.

The Society of Philippine Surgeons in America conducts a yearly annual surgical symposium and continuing medical education in July and during its spring Board meeting.

Click here to view [ Accreditation Council Continuing Medical Education ]

Former SPSA President Out With New Book

Philip Chua, MD FACS FPCS long-awaited book  came out of publication recently. “Let’s Stop Killing Our Children” is a collection of the author’s articles and commentaries on our environment and social issues which were published in numerous websites and newspapers here in the United States and abroad.  The book, according to the author is meant to encourage  “the fundamental value of starting a healthy lifestyle and prevention of diseases from crib, or even before the conception of the child”.  The articles  are “aimed to educate, challenge, and inspire the public on health issues and offer preemptive strategies in dealing with diseases in general”.

Dr. Chua, a cardiac surgeon, is a former president of the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America, editor emeritus of the Philippine Surgeon and presently the Chairman of the Filipino United Network USA. He writes a weekly column  on health related issues for four newspapers in the United States. The foreword to the book was written by Dr. Denton Cooley with whom the author trained under during his cardiac fellowship at Texas Heart Institute.

Dr. Chua who is married to his wife Farida, a pediatrician, and has five children who are all physicians, has promised to donate royalties from  books purchased by and through the Society of Philippine Surgeons in America in the Philippines towards the charitable  activities of the Society. The book can be purchased through  Xlibris, the publisher of the book or through the internet,  Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.