STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3656

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    GOV. MSG. NO. 567

 

 

 

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

 

Madam:

 

     Your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 567, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Board of Medical Examiners

 

G.M. No. 567

THOMAS S. KOSASA, MD,

for a term to expire 6-30-2012,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by the nominee, and finds Thomas S. Kosasa, M.D. to have the necessary qualifications to be nominated to the Board of Medical Examiners.

 

     Testimony in support of Dr. Kosasa's nomination was submitted by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and two private individuals.

 

     Dr. Kosasa received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture from Dartmouth College, and his Doctor of Medicine from McGill University Medical School in Montreal, Canada.  He later completed his residency and fellowship at Harvard Medical School.  He currently serves as a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaii where he also serves as Chief of its Reproductive Endocrinology Division.  He also serves as a Co-Director for the Pacific In Vitro Fertilization Institute and serves as an Obstetric Consultant for Hawaii Air Ambulance.

 

     Dr. Kosasa is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Fertility Society, the Hawaii Medical Association, the Pacific Coast Obstetrical and Gynecological Society, and the Pan Pacific Surgical Association where he serves on the Board of Trustees.  He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Boy Scouts, Maryknoll School, and the Pacific Aviation Museum, and is a Trustee of the Kosasa Foundation.  He has also authored several chapters and articles in a variety of published textbooks.

 

     Dr. Kosasa is licensed to practice medicine in Hawaii and Massachusetts.  As a former member of the Board, he understands the mission and priorities of the Board and believes that everyone in Hawaii should be cared for by a qualified and competent physician.  He emphasizes that members of the Board have the responsibility to ensure that every physician who cares for patients in Hawaii has not only the knowledge and skills to be a good physician, but has also been evaluated for their ethics and integrity.  As a Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, he has the opportunity to evaluate students and physicians on a daily basis, which has provided him the understanding of the qualities that are necessary to be a qualified physician and will help in his decision making ability as a member of the Board.  Dr. Kosasa's demonstrated commitment, motivation, teaching background, education, and professional experiences will greatly assist the Board of Medical Examiners.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection, and Affordable Housing,

 

 

 

____________________________

RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair