Director's Message April 4, 2025

During his tenure as Director, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System (VAPIHCS) made extraordinary progress, increasing the number of sites of care, growing and supporting an engaged workforce, and expanding care to thousands of Veterans across the pacific.

As I step into the role of Interim Medical Center Director, I am both grateful and honored to be able to carry the torch, as we continue the mission of serving you, your caregivers, and survivors. Since December 2023, I’ve worked side by side with Dr. Robinson as the Deputy Medical Center Director. In that capacity, I had overall responsibility for planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, evaluating, and improving medical, administrative, and supporting operations of the facility. When coupled with my 20+ years of experience in clinical and administrative healthcare leadership, and our extraordinary staff, I’m confident that VAPIHCS will continue to deliver exceptional health care that improves our Veterans’ health and well-being.  I am thankful for the opportunity to work on your behalf and to make the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System your provider of choice.

April is Whole Health Month

When I began my career with the VA, I had the opportunity to learn about the VA’s Whole Health Program, which has been an invaluable experience that resonates with me personally. An integrated approach to healing necessitates the treatment of both the body and the soul.

Today, over two million Veterans have started their journey to better health and wellness through VA’s Whole Health Program. To address your overall well-being, you have to go beyond symptoms and diagnoses and address all areas of your life. Whole Health includes conventional and complementary therapies and centers around what matters to you. Learn more as David, Annetta, and Harley share how Whole Health supported their goals in this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeDWWsYmf3Y

Thoughts from the Chaplain

In the middle of a beautiful city stood a museum adorned with elegant marble tiles and a grand marble statue. Visitors from all over the world visited the museum each day to admire the beautifully crafted statue. But one night, after the museum was closed, the marble tiles had a candid conversation with the statue.

The marble floor began to complain that tourists were so enamored by the statue, but only ignored and stepped on the marble floors. The marble statue responded “don’t you remember that we were both at one point just unshaped marble from the same quarry? But when the sculptor came, he tried working on both of us with his tools, but you resisted. Each time he tried to carve something out of you with his pick and hammer, you kept telling him to stop. The sculptor was trying to mold you into a statue like me, but you were not willing to be molded according to his plan. Eventually, the sculptor saw fit only to smoothen you out. And as a flat, smooth surface, the only way he saw fit to use you was as tile flooring in the museum. When he came to me, I felt the same pain as you did, but trusted that I would be molded into something better”.

This fictional tale highlights the importance of being willing to be molded. In our life experiences, challenges and problems can act as chisels and hammers. Although painful to experience in the moment, they have the potential to shape new things in us and carve out different possibilities for growth in our character. But growth doesn’t happen simply by virtue of experiencing a challenging event. Growth occurs by choice. Every new challenge leaves us with the option to either learn from that experience and make needed changes or resist the lessons that we could have gleaned. The possibility for either lies in our hands. Let’s choose continual growth.

One Team, One Ohana!

Thandiwe (Tandi) Nelson-Brooks, MPH, FACHE 

Interim Medical Center Director

VA Pacific Islands Health Care System

Stay Informed Website: https://www.va.gov/pacific-islands-health-care/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VAPacificIslands/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/va_pacific_islands/ 

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Podcast: https://vapihcspao.podbean.com/