FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - The Queen`s Medical Center

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 21, 2015
Media Contact:
Lisa Sekiya
(808) 691-4010
lsekiya@queens.org
THE QUEEN’S MEDICAL CENTER HONORS STUDENT AND
ADULT VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR
HONOLULU — The Queen‘s Medical Center (Queen‘s) recently honored its student and
adult volunteers of the year at an appreciation luncheon, hosted by Robb Ohtani, MD,
representing the Queen‘s Board of Trustees, and Art Ushijima, president of The Queen‘s
Medical Center.
Chester Hui is this year‘s recipient of the student Kokua Po‗okela Award. Hui couldn‘t
wait to turn 15 so he could apply for a volunteer position at Queen‘s. That was one-anda-half years and 330 service hours ago. His nominators describe him as enthusiastic and
always willing to help. He has served at Queen‘s Heart and in the ICU, and is now
assigned to Fleetwing, so he can help train new volunteers. Although his original career
interest was in pharmacy, he is now considering medicine and will pursue that interest
this summer at Stanford.
Francis Bueno is this year‘s recipient of the adult Kokua Po‗okela Award. He has
volunteered for one-and-a-half years and has logged 575 hours. Bueno is known for his
welcoming smile, friendly demeanor and for going above and beyond to support the team
at The Queen‘s Medical Center - West O‗ahu. In fact, he is so dedicated, he didn‘t want
to miss a volunteer day to have lunch with his family. That lunch was actually a ruse to
get him to attend the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon so he could be presented with the
award. In the end, the staff told him the department would be ―closed for renovations,‖
so he couldn‘t come in; and Bueno‘s family watched him receive a well-deserved
recognition.
Faye Uno received the Ho‗omau Award, which recognizes longevity of service. She has
been a Queen‘s volunteer for 26 years and has donated almost 6,000 hours. She helps
visitors and callers at the Information Desk and also serves in Fleetwing. The former
teacher is valued as an effective trainer and top evaluator. She is often asked for advice
because of her many years of experience. She is gracious, kind and always willing to do
what‘s best for the hospital‘s patients and visitors.
Ushijima recognized all of the volunteers who serve at Queen‘s. ―We are grateful for the
generous contributions of time and talent that our volunteers bring every day,‖ he said.
―They serve our patients with aloha and are an essential part of our community and
‗ohana.‖
The yearly statistics show just how much the volunteers positively affect the lives of
Queen‘s patients. Volunteers worked on over 1,000 special projects for 107 units and
departments. They delivered more than 2,100 floral arrangements and transported 8,100
patients. All together, Queen‘s volunteers donated over 58,000 hours in 2014, with an
estimated value of $1.4 million in service to patients and the community.
Volunteers have been an integral part of The Queen‘s Medical Center for more than 155
years. If you are interested in learning more or becoming a volunteer, please visit
www.queens.org, or call Queen‘s Volunteer Services at Punchbowl at (808) 691-4397 or
at West O‗ahu at (808) 691-3197.
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The Queen‘s Medical Center (Queen‘s), a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established in 1859 by Queen Emma and King
Kamehameha IV, is an acute care medical facility accredited by The Joint Commission. The facility is licensed for 505 acute beds and
28 sub-acute beds and serves as the major tertiary and quaternary referral center for cancer, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience,
orthopaedics, surgery, emergency medicine and behavioral health medicine. It is the state‘s designated trauma center verified as Level
II by the American College of Surgeons. It has the only organ transplantation program in Hawaii. Queen‘s is a major teaching
hospital, serving as a clinical training site for the residency programs sponsored by the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the
University of Hawaii. Queen‘s is the only hospital in Hawaii to achieve Magnet® status – the highest institutional honor for hospital
excellence – from the American Nurses Credentialing Center.