Director's Message November 27, 2024

In this model, we look at the Veteran as a complete person, rather than as a collection of symptoms. We listen to what matters to them, and we tailor our treatment options to their lifestyle. Whole Health emphasizes well-being that includes physical, mental, and spiritual care, and gratitude is an important part of overall well-being. As a Navy Veteran, I know that many of you reflect on the Thanksgivings you missed while you were deployed. As we celebrate this Thanksgiving, take a moment to reflect on the simple joy of spending your holidays with the people you love and sharing treasured moments with them. 

At VAPIHCS, we have so much to be grateful for this year. Our new Guam Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC) annex is being constructed. The Daniel K. Akaka VA Clinic is open, and more Veterans are enrolling to receive care there every day. Congress has granted us the authority to care for the Veterans who live in the Compact of Free Association (COFA) territories, and VA is developing a plan to that deliver care. We’ve been able to offer more services to more Veterans due to the passage of the PACT Act and the COMPACT Act, and we will continue outreach to ensure that all Veterans get the benefits that they have earned and deserve. There is so much to be thankful for, and so much that we can reflect on with pride. 

For anyone who doesn’t have plans this year, please join us for a Thanksgiving meal from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, November 28, 2024, at the Daniel K. Akaka VA Clinic. Our annual Thanksgiving meal is organized by Center for Development and Civic Engagement (CDCE) Chief Schoen Safotu, and you can contact him with any questions at 808-321-7505 or Schoen.Safotu@va.gov. 

As we reflect on our blessings, let us be thankful for each other. In our fellow Veterans we find camaraderie, strength, and understanding. We may have served in different branches and fought in different wars, but we know what it means to serve - and in that way, we are alike. I celebrated my 50th year of federal service recently. I proudly served in the United States Navy for 36 years, and I have been in civil service since I retired from the Navy. I am grateful for the opportunities I have been given to make a difference. I am also thankful to you for your service to our country, and all that you have done to keep us safe at home. 

May each and every one of you have a joyful Thanksgiving. 

Message from Chaplain Richie Charles

A timeless tale speaks of a father who was a farmer. Aware of his approaching death, he gathered his children together and shared a secret: “There is a great treasure buried somewhere in our fields, but I cannot recall exactly where it is”, he told his children. After his passing, his children, in search of this secret treasure, began digging throughout the fields. Day after day, they toiled, turning over every inch of soil. Yet, despite their efforts, they found no gold or jewels.

Frustrated after all that digging, but still undeterred, his children stopped to look around, and realized that after turning over every corner of the fields, they had inadvertently tilled the ground, and now the soil was well-prepared for planting. They decided to plant seeds in the freshly tilled earth. That season, the crops yielded an extraordinary harvest, far surpassing anything the farm had ever produced before.

The “treasure” turned out not to be silver or gold—rather, it was the fertile land, the strength they had to cultivate the land, the abundance it produced and the bonds they developed working alongside each other. Perhaps the father said he didn’t know where the treasure was in the field, because only the portions of the land that the children chose to cultivate would end up yielding its abundance. The treasure was all around, but “finding” it would be their choice. In digging to find new treasure, they developed a sense of gratitude for the gifts they possessed all along.

Gratitude, by its very nature, is a beautiful paradox. The more we express gratitude, the more we find to be grateful for. It’s free, and costs us nothing, yet it immeasurably enriches our lives. Gratitude may not add or give us more, but it can sometimes transform what we already have into being enough. Henry Ward Beecher once said that “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” During this Thanksgiving season, let’s decide to cultivate the attitude of simply being thankful. 

One Team, One Ohana!
Adam M. Robinson, Jr., MD, MBA, CPE 
Director, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System
VADM, MC, USN, (RET)
36th Surgeon General, USN

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