Dear Colleague,

The State of Hawaii suffers from a severe shortage of physicians. This is most evident in rural areas and the neighbor islands. There is an inequality form women with respect to access and services for complex women’s health care.

The Hawaii Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists was formed as a non-profit by former residents William Fong, Irwin Lee, and John Uohara (Kapiolani Class of 1979). HSOG will raise funds to provide educational and financial assistance to medical students, residents, and post-graduate physicians who may be interested in exploring opportunities in under-served areas.

Our initial goals:

1. Create a major Ob/Gyn conference involving a collaborative effort to create a greater awareness of the physician shortage, improve networking and encourage ideas and solutions from a varying point of view. The conference will also present medical topics of interest and evidence based solutions.
2. Create a database of current and past residents, fellows, and faculty to assist in networking and potential job placement in under-served areas.
3. Collaborate with the Department of Ob/Gyn to support resident rotations to remote hospital within the State of Hawaii. This will provide exposure and experience for residents to work in low resource areas.
4. Create a recruitment program which would help transitioning Ob/Gyns who are planning to retire. This will help preserve and stabilize the health care system in that area.

We would be honored if you would consider joining our efforts to create and strengthen our non-profit.

Sincerely,

William Fong, Irwin Lee, and John Uohara