Inspire 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
Pali Momi: Remembering Dr. Joe
Dr. Joe attended every Doctors’ Day event at Pali Momi, including this one in 2022. From left: Dr. Joe; Dr. Charles Kim, Pali Momi urologist; Dr. Jason Isa, Pali Momi chief of staff; and Dr. Huidy Shu, HPH chief of medical subspecialties.
Humble beginnings. That is how Dr. Joseph Nishimoto described his life. It’s also the same way many would describe his efforts to build Pali Momi Medical Center. Dr. Nishimoto — known affectionately by many as “Dr. Joe” — passed away Dec. 1, 2023. He was 96.
Dr. Joe was raised on a plantation camp where health care was not readily available. When he was 9, he tragically learned the importance of access to care when his father died without receiving the medical attention he needed. Those years growing up in Waialua left a lifelong impression on him.
The little boy became the man of the house and supported his mother and four siblings with after-school jobs. He continued to work through college to make enough money for tuition and graduated from medical school at the University of Cincinnati. When he returned home, he received offers from practices in Downtown Honolulu, but turned them all down to become the first physician to open an office in Pearl City. Dr. Joe and his partners established Pearl City Medical Associates in 1965 and soon had a thriving practice.
The Pearl City Medical Associates physicians in 1989. Front row, from left: Dr. Benjamin Chang and Dr. Edward Kagihara. Back row, from left: Dr. Alan Masuda, Dr. Alvin Fuse, Dr. Fred Tanabe, Dr. Michael Mihara and Dr. Joe.
"Dr. Joe had to work extremely hard to get to where he was, and he never forgot that,” said Dr. Michael Mihara, a primary care physician at Pearl City Medical who Dr. Joe hired in 1988. “Dr. Joe would sometimes see more than 100 patients a day. He was committed to the practice of medicine, although it meant working long hours, making house calls or opening the office at night to see patients with urgent needs. He even delivered babies.”
Dr. Joe and his wife, Maude.
Dr. Joe knew that the growing communities outside of town needed a full-service hospital. At first, state officials voted unanimously against the idea. Then, in 1983, Dr. Joe and his wife, Maude, tried a different approach. They helped collect 13,000 signatures on a petition urging state officials to allow a state-of-the-art hospital in Aiea. That made the difference.
In 1989, Pali Momi opened as a 116-bed hospital and medical office building on a 3-and-a-half-acre lot. Lifesaving services were now minutes away for those “out in the country,” as Dr. Joe would say.
Dr. Joe (right), Gov. John Waihee and other dignitaries at the opening of Pali Momi Medical Center in 1989.
Today, Pali Momi continues to be inspired by its founding physician. Doctors are honored with the Dr. Joseph Nishimoto Distinguished Service Award for extraordinary dedication to the health and well-being of Central and West Oahu communities. For more than two decades, employees have also furthered their medical education through a scholarship created by Dr. Joe and Maude.
Aaron Taylor, who is the manager of Pali Momi’s Emergency Department, used his Nishimoto scholarship to complete his master’s in nursing leadership and administration.
“I am indebted to Dr. Joe for his contributions to Pali Momi and its employees,” Taylor said. “His legacy will live on through his name, his achievements and his generosity.”
Pali Momi staff and the community will forever remember Dr. Joe with humble appreciation — the plantation boy who grew up to lead a fulfilling and purposeful life.