HONOLULU – The Queen’s Medical Center (Queen’s) has honored Daniel Cheng, M.D. and Kazuma Nakagawa, M.D. as the 2019 Ke Kauka Po‘okela Outstanding Physicians of the Year.
This annual award recognizes physicians of Queen’s medical staff who exemplify high-quality care, professional conduct, outstanding contributions to the medical field and a spirit of aloha.
“As we celebrate our 160th year, we are reminded that when Queen Emma established The Queen’s Hospital with King Kamehameha IV, she was guided by a deep aloha for her people and the community,” said Art Ushijima, President of The Queen’s Medical Center. “Dr. Cheng and Dr. Nakagawa exemplify this aloha through their dedicated efforts to improve the health and well-being of our community. They are role models for Queen’s C.A.R.E. values of Compassion, Aloha, Respect and Excellence.”
Dr. Cheng, who received the award for Outstanding Community-Based Physician, is an emergency department physician and the Emergency Department Medical Director and Assistant Chief at The Queen’s Medical Center. He also serves as the Medical Director of Queen’s Care Coalition, a program he helped establish to improve the health care of the homeless and underserved.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree with a specialization in Neuroscience from the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Cheng received his Master of Public Health degree, specializing in Epidemiology, from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his medical degree from the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. He did his residency at the University of Southern California Hospital in Los Angeles County.
In 2018, Dr. Cheng was honored by the Healthcare Association of Hawaii as the Physician of the Year. He is also an assistant clinical professor at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Dr. Nakagawa, who received the award for Outstanding Hospital-Based Physician, is a neurointensivist and serves as the Medical Director for Queen’s Comprehensive Stroke Center.
He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University. He attended medical school at the University of Florida. He completed his neurology training at the Harvard Neurology Residency Program and did his neurocritical care fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
He is also an associate professor of medicine at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine, and was awarded the 2016 Alpha Omega Alpha Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award for excellence in teaching. His current research has demonstrated stroke-related health disparities among Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders, placing Hawaii-specific health issues at the national level in the field of stroke.
