On December 18, 2025, a special edition of Conversations at HMA brought together representatives from Hawai'i's three largest healthcare providers: Hawaii Pacific Health (HPH), The Queen's Health Systems, and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii. These three thought leaders shared their assessment on Hawai'i's healthcare environment, how all providers affect its landscape, and their visions towards making healthcare accessible, equitable, and sustainable for Hawai'i's people.

They also discussed the potential affiliation between HPH and HMSA, and how this may impact our healthcare environment.

The panelists are:

Raymond Vara, Jr.
President & CEO, Hawaii Pacific Health

Jason Chang
President & CEO, the Queen's Health Systems

Edmund Chan
President, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals in Hawaii

Nadine Tenn Salle, MD
President, Hawaii Medical Association
Moderator

This episode of HMAConnect interviews Albert Newmann, Director of Hospital Services, and Sean Cervone, Family Services Coordinator, from Legacy of Life Hawai'i.

Legacy of Life Hawai’i is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization and the only organization in Hawai'i federally designated to recover organs and tissue for transplant. Legacy of Life Hawai`i works closely with our island hospitals to cultivate an understanding in our diverse communities that life is worth giving.

Our guest today is Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, Member of the American Medical Association’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Fryhofer, a board-certified physician of internal medicine, was elected as a trustee in June 2018 and served as chair of the board in 2022–23. A graduate of Emory University School of Medicine, Dr. Fryhofer also maintains a full-time general internal medicine private practice in Atlanta. Among her numerous positions, she has served as AMA’s liaison to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.