Free Surgery Stalwarts retire: helped hundreds in San Mateo Cnty

Dr. John Ngai and Nurse Janet Cuschieri closed out distinguished careers of volunteering to provide free surgeries for the needy……by again providing free surgeries for the needy at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City recently . And both Dr Ngai and Cuschieri spent many days recruiting the myriad volunteer surgical personnel to make their final Operation Access event a success.

“We’re going to miss them so, so much,” said Ali Balick, Program Director of Operation Access, “but we certainly wish them well in their retirement.”

For 25 years now, Operation Access has provided thousands of Bay Area uninsured people with life-changing free surgeries: hernia operations that let them return to work, cataract removals that let them see. Seventeen Kaiser Permanente Hospitals and staff run Operation Access surgery days, in sessions supported by Kaiser Permanente’s Community Benefit programs, and at Kaiser Permanente Redwood City, Dr. Ngai and Nurse Cuschieri were considered leadership champions.

“Dr. Ngai is one of our VIP volunteers, who’s seen over 200 patients,” said Balick, “and Janet Cuschieri is a leading Operating Room nurse who makes sure our sessions here at Redwood City are well-equipped, orderly, and run smoothly.”

“I feel like we’re all brothers and sisters here in this world, and those like us here with advantages should try to help those who are less advantaged,” says Dr. Ngai, who is now officially retired as a Kaiser Permanente General Surgeon.

It could be said that Dr. Ngai followed the tradition of Kaiser Permanente’s Dr. Douglas Grey, who co- founded Operation Access in 1993. Dr. Grey had noticed that the KP operating rooms were unused on Saturdays, and he thought it would be great way to encourage medical volunteerism and help solve the unmet health needs of thousands of Bay Areans. Since then, Kaiser Permanente Bay Area Medical Centers have partnered with Operation Access, and hundreds of KP surgery staff have regularly volunteered to perform ambulatory operations for the needy.

“Dr. Ngai is the second most active surgeon in our entire 9 County Bay Area program through its 25 years,” says Balick.

For his services, Dr. Ngai has received multiple honors, including a recent national Jefferson Award from CBS in the Bay Area. Nurse Janet Cuschieri has also been honored for her volunteer work by Operation Access

“Janet is a problem-solver and these Operation Access sessions would not be so successful without her leadership,” said Balick.

“I started volunteering for Operation Access events at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco in 2003,” says Cuschieri, “And it always makes me happy to see people smiling as they leave these sessions and start living their lives again.”

Before the surgeries started, both nurse Cuschieri and Dr. Ngai were surprised with certificates of recognition from the city. Redwood City Vice Mayor Diane Howard, who is a nurse, came by the hospital and presented the certificates in honor of their volunteering.

And after the surprise, it was surgery time. For Dr. Ngai, sad about retiring but likely not his last Operation Access volunteering.

“It’s like your kids grow up and you feel like the empty nest sadness: I want to come back and offer my help.”