VA-Hawai'i Director Trying to Improve Access and Care

Hawaiʻi Public Radio | By Wayne Yoshioka

Published June 16, 2014 at 5:20 PM HST

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Army Veteran Joseph Santiago holds the x-rays of his broken back in front of the VA Medical Center on Oahu

Wayne Yoshioka

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(L-R) Wayne Pfeffer, VA Pacific Islands Health Care System director; Dr. Laura Wong, physician-in-charge of Primary Care, and Dr. Richard Stack, brief news media on veterans medical care and access.

Wayne Yoshioka

The Veterans Affairs director in Hawai’i wants to assure veterans and the public that he is working hard to provide better access to primary care. But as HPR’s Wayne Yoshioka reports, the problems for one VA patient could highlight how difficult achieving that objective might be.

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Wayne Yoshioka

Wayne Yoshioka is an award-winning journalist who has worked in television, print and radio in Hawaiʻi. He also has been on both sides of politics as a state departmental appointee and political/government reporter. He covered Hurricane Iwa (1982) as a TV reporter; was the State Department of Defense/Civil Defense spokesperson for Hurricane Iniki (1992); and, commanded a public affairs detachment in Afghanistan (2006). He has a master's degree in Communication from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is a decorated combat veteran (Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and 22 other commendation/service medals). He resides in Honolulu.