WHO WE ARE

Letter from David Kulber, MD

Co-Founder, President

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Ohana One started several years ago with a conversation Dr. Michele Dee, Kylie Tanabe and I had over some drinks during a mission trip in Mozambique. We knew we wanted to do more than just support and train our surgical counterparts for a few days and then leave. When we returned to Los Angeles we took the steps needed to launch Ohana One as an avenue to provide more consistent surgical training. We did not know at the time that COVID-19 was on the horizon, and we certainly did not know how needed our vision would become.

Ohana One has become a critical force to improve and change surgical care around the globe. Ohana means family in Hawaiian, and I am honored and humbled to be a part of the family making this happen. Our world of haves and have nots has been further bifurcated by COVID and Ohana One offers a unique solution to bring needed remote surgical education to over 41 (and counting) countries around the globe. 

Initially, our small but mighty team has focused our resources and time on the Ohana One Surgical Sight Program. Over this past year, we have seen the program grow to include 95 surgeons across 77 hospitals in 41 countries. These numbers don’t do justice to the thousands of lives that will be impacted by this program. Each surgeon trained through the Surgical Sight Program will likely operate on 10,000 patients in their career. Each surgeon in the program now has access to medical education that allows them to advance their skills and perform more complex procedures with higher success rates and fewer complications. The communities where the Surgical Sight Program surgeons live and work are being transformed thanks to the new skills they are learning through Ohana One’s Surgical Sight Program. 

For many organizations, this epic transformation of remote surgical education would be enough, but Ohana One is just getting started. Over this past year, we have been developing the OO app, for both Android and Apple, which will provide access to a worldwide community of surgeons, educational videos, medical records management and much more. In addition, we have invested in creating a video library of training videos, improved the technology used in our Surgical Sight Program, and started to introduce Virtual Reality training options for and with our partner organizations. We have grown to provide training in six specialty areas and have increased our network to include 22 partner NGOs. I invite you to explore all of this on the pages of this report. 

When I look back at this past year, it is extraordinary what Ohana One has been able to accomplish, and that is only possible because of you! Thank you for your ongoing support of this truly life-changing work. Thank you for sharing our vision of transformative remote surgical education. 

Thank you for being a part of our global Ohana, and helping to close the surgical gap. 

— DAVID KULBER, MD

Mission & Vision

At A Glance

Ohana One aims to bridge global gaps in surgical care by providing access to advanced surgical training and mentorship programs, innovative technology, and educational resources to developing areas. The lifetime impact of a surgeon in a developed country is an estimated 10,000 patients during their entire career.  In 10 years, if we have 1,000 surgeons enrolled in our mentor program, those new surgeons can go on to operate on 10 million people worldwide— closing the surgical gap. Ohana One will achieve this by pursuing these four objectives in partnership with other NGOs:

Develop and invest in a network of master surgeons and apprentices to build a sustainable and connected global surgical community.

Utilize technology to bridge the gap between these surgical professionals, thereby reducing distance as the primary barrier to year-round training.

Execute surgical in-person training missions worldwide to address critical surgical needs and identify professionals in those regions who would fully embrace mentor support.

Collect, analyze, and ultimately publish meaningful data from the volunteer surgical teams participating in the Surgical Sight Program.

Ohana One Journey

As an agile start-up nonprofit Ohana One has already changed the lives of thousands by using cutting-edge technology to transform the face of remote surgical education. This video shares that Journey.

2021 Inductees

HALL OF FAME AWARDS

Winners are selected through a rigorous process overseen by a staff committee, and are selected based on excellence in their training area and meaningful contributions toward advancing Ohana One’s mission. Congratulations to our 2021 Ohana One Hall of Fame Winners!

MENTOR 

Mark Myerson, MD

MENTEE 

Saad Ilyas, MD

PARTNER ORGANIZATION 

Global Health Initiative

COMMUNITY MEMBERS 

Tom & Edna Gordon and DSL Construction

SURGICAL SIGHT PROGRAM

Surgical Sight Program

As world of this revolutionary remote training program was shared out by our partner organizations, the Surgical Sight Program quickly filled up! We are providing services where they are most needed and requested.

Participating Hospitals

Aga Khan University Hospital
Ain Shams University
ALERT Hospital
Barrow Neurological Institute
Bere Adventist Hospital
Boston Children’s Hospital
Bugando Medical Center
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Centre National Hospitalier et HKM
Children’s Hospital 2
Children’s Hospital of Alabama
Children’s National Hospital
Chris Hai Bargwanath Academic Hospital
Cincinnati Childrens Hospital
CURE Hospital
E Virginia Med School/
Senera Norfolk GH
Eastbourne District General Hospital
Evergreen Health
FAME Africa
Ghurki Trust Teaching Hospital
Groote Schuur Hospital
Guthrie/Robert Packer Hospital
Helping Hands
Henry Ford Hospital
Hospital General De Grand Yoff
Hospital General Irissa Pouye
Hospital Mario Catarino Rivas
Hospital Nacional Daniel Alcides Carrion – Callao
Huntington Hospital
Intl Medical Center,
Hue Central Hospital
Jijiga Sheik Hassen Yabare
Referral Hospital
John Hopkins University
Kamuzu Central Hospital
Kirtipur Hospital
Kongo Anokye Teaching Hospital
Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children
Makerere University College of Health Sciences
Maputo General Hospital
Muhimbili Orthopedic Institute
Mulago Hospital
National Cancer Hospital in Hanoi
National Hospital Abuja
National Trauma Center, Nepal
North Okkalapa General Hospital
Oregon Health & Science University
PAD Enterprises
Parirenyatwa Hospital
Pawi General Hospital
Philippine Heart Center
Roberto Clemente Clinic
San Bernardo Hospital
Shriners for Children Medical Center
Sick Kids Hospital
Sourb Astvatsamyr MC
Southern Phillipines Medical Center
St Luke’s Medical Center
St. Gaspar Referral and
Teaching Hospital
Stanford Medical Center
Tikur Anbessa Hospital
Tygerberg Hospital
UCLA Medical Center
University of Gondar Hospital
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
University Teaching Hospital of Kigali
Weill Cornell New York Presbyterian
Western Sussex Hospitals Trust

Mentor/Mentee Program

Each mentor/mentee team in our Surgical Sight program embarks on a one-year program remote surgical intensive focusing on a single procedure or technique that will elevate the mentee’s ability and help them care for even more of their own patients. These trainings occur while they continue working in their practice or hospital, remaining with their family and continuing to care for their community.

Plastic and Reconstructive

Mentor Mentee
Gorden Lee Kevin Nduku
Dung Nguyen Trung Hau Le Thua
Andre Panossian Artur Haruytyanyan
Marshall Partington Kush Aeron
Rod Hentz Shilu Shrestha
Damon Cooney Rose Alenyo
John Grant Solomon Obiri-Yeboah
Abraham Negussie Amanuel Tebikew
David Kulber Pedro Santos
Dana LaVanture Andrew Trecartin
Lori Howell Pramila Shakya
Christopher Conner Seif Nuru

Neurosurgery

Mentor Mentee
James Johnston Dang Do Thanh Can
Jack Rock Su Myat Moe
Mahmood Qureshi Khalif Abdifatah
Roger Hartl Hamisi Shabani
Brandon Rocque Nguyen Linh
Brandon Rocque Nguyen Duc Lien
Benjamin Warf Osama Aglan

General and Colorectal

Mentor Mentee
Miguel Burch Vihar Kotecha
Dan DeUgarte
Massada Da Rocha
Marc Levitt Giulia Brisighelli
Jose Mosquera
Hazel Ruiz Villareal

Cathy Kilyewala

Sifa Nganza

Orthopedics

Mentor
Mentee
Maryse Bouchard Dimuthu Tennakoon
Maryse Bouchard Kibret Melkamu
Scott Kozin
Richard Gardner
Mark Myerson Saad Ilyas
Mark Myerson
Graham McCollum
Mark Myerson Anibal Alvarado
Mark Myerson Lufeng Yao
Gaston Slullitel Andres Jerez
Laurence Wicks
Kaleab Tesfaye Reda

Urology

Mentor Mentee
Graham Watson Emmanuel Muhawenimana
Graham Watson Lamine Niang
Graham Watson John Lazarus
Michael Chua Luis Balajadia
Michael Chua Manuel IV See
Andrew Freedman Norma Oviedo
Francis Schneck Medina NDoye
Paddy Dewan Farzana Cassim
Kurt McCammon Abeselom Gebreamlak
Kurt McCammon Isiaka Lawal
Kurt McCammon Mohamed Jalloh
Suzie Venn Charles Mabedi
Kymora Scotland Gilles Natchagande
Allen Chiura Lawrance Mavushe
Frank Papanikolaou Andrew DiPierdomenic

OBGYN

Mentor Mentee
Bryan Jick Anne Ghati

Stories From Our Ohana

Specialty Stories

Over the past year, the Surgical Sight program expanded to include six different surgical specialties. On the following pages, we offer stories from each specialty to demonstrate the breadth of this program and each story highlights a unique perspective and combination of the training and technology. Seen through the eyes of an NGO partner, a hospital partnership, a patient transformation, a surgeon starting her own training journey, and a mentee becoming a mentor. We hope you enjoy this special glimpse into our Ohana!

Click on each story below to read more.

ORTHOPEDIC

Training Success Story

OBGYN

Expanding the Surgical Sight Program

PLASTIC SURGERY

Mentee Becoming A Mentor

UROLOGY

Making A Difference Together

NEUROSURGERY

Creating Sustainable Change

GENERAL AND COLORECTAL

Supporting Surgeries Across The Globe

FOUNDERS

Doing Mission Work At Home

Ohana One Founders David Kulber, MD,Michele Dee, MD, and Kylie Tanabe, PA-C.

Ohana One has focused much of our time and resources on the Surgical Sight Program this past year, but our impact is bigger than that of just this one program. Providing surgical care to those who need it the most and don’t have access has always been a driving force for the Ohana One team. Much of our work is to establish long-term solutions that train surgeons in low and middle income countries to gain the skills they need to provide quality care locally. However, that is a process that takes time and many patients need immediate care. Because of that reality, the Ohana One team provides direct care whenever possible. Our founding team of medical professionals continues to invest their time and talents whenever they are able.

When we learned about Manal and Aysha from the Children’s Burn Foundation, we knew we wanted to help them recover and immediately volunteered our services and expertise to treat the damage they suffered. Both Manal and Aysha’s had extreme injuries were caused by bombings in Syria and were too extensive to be repaired during mission trip visits. They needed to travel to the United States to receive the longer-term care they required. 

Getting these girls the help they needed was a group effort. Ohana One works with a large network of NGOs determined to provide international surgical training and relief. Arrangements were made by The Syrian Burn Relief Fund for Manal and Aysha to safely travel from Syria to the U.S.

Aysha and Manal have been in the U.S. for a little over a year. They stay at the Ronald McDonald house together, where they can speak Arabic, practice English, and attend local schools until their treatment has concluded and they can return home.

For these patients, their surgical team includes Sandra Rodriguez, RN, Kylie Tanabe, PA, Dr. David Kulber, and Dr. Michele Dee, who donate their services through Ohana One, pro bono. 

Both Ayesha and Manal suffered extensive burns on their hands and have already received over five corrective surgeries. When Manal first came to the Ohana team, she had no fingers on one of her hands. Through a series of surgeries, we were able to lengthen her fingers and deepen the web spaces between them. These procedures will allow Ayesha and Manal to care for themselves in their daily lives, but more than that, they will be able to complete more complex tasks that can bring them joy—like creating art.

Life can be so difficult, especially for those living in parts of the world that lack resources and are often faced with tragic events. All of us at Ohana One do this work to bridge the gap between needing care and receiving care, and to create the opportunity for a better quality of life. 

These efforts are focused on the needs of the individuals and show how Ohana One collaborates with organizations that hold a patient-first mindset. All the partners involved know the most important thing is ensuring the patients receive the care they deserve. We see the value of this work and it inspires us to work even harder to offer remote training so that more surgeons will be able to provide this type of care in their countries. 

Manal showing her artwork after a corrective surgery in the United States.

“All of us at Ohana One do this work to bridge the gap between needing care and receiving care, and to create the opportunity for a better quality of life.”

Ohana One Founders David Kulber, MD,Michele Dee, MD, and Kylie Tanabe, PA-C.

IMPACT

Our Impact

%

increase in surgeries completed using Vuzix Smart Glasses

individuals directly impacted by Ohana One

countries with Ohana One members

hospitals with Ohana One members

mentor/mentee teams in the Surgical Sight Program

surgeons onboarded to the Surgical Sight Program

%

increase in calls made in the Surgical Sight program

mentees awarded platinum status for exceeding expectations and completing training ahead of schedule!

360º Experience

A Look Into Our World

Ohana One is pioneering the use of smart glasses to close the surgical education gap, but our team is not satisfied with offering just this one innovative program. We have seen the impact technology can have on longterm remote surgical training, and we are actively pursuing new uses for emerging technology.  As we head in to 2022 and beyond Ohana One continues to innovate and looks to further disrupt surgical training. We are excited to share with you this sneak peak of what we are working on!

Please click and drag or move your phone to navagate around the 360º video.

2021 Financials

Ohana One is disrupting the way remote surgical education happens through increased access and new technologies. We are a lean organization with minimal overhead which allows us to focus funds raised on the development of and investment in technologies and training modalities that are shared with surgical partners around the globe. Your support is what makes this possible.

Support and Revenue

Individual Contributions $334,104

Gift In-Kind Contributions $195,239

Foundations $102,00

Corporations $17,684

$659,027

Expenses

Programs $447,620

Fundraising $24,874

Administrative $8,534

$481,028

LOOKING AHEAD

As Ohana One looks to 2022 and beyond, we have set goals to further our efforts in closing the surgical gap. The Ohana One Surgical Sight Program is growing and we are collecting data and outcomes that are being used for continuous improvements.

Launching Our OO App

We will be launching our OO App which connects surgeons globally while also providing tools such as training videos, medical record management, note-taking and more.

Partnerships Welcome

We are looking to partner with more NGOs to support training in new specialties and new locations. We are excited about collaborations and partnerships that use technologies in new ways to further disrupt remote surgical education. With your support, Ohana One will reach even more surgeons and provide virtual training opportunities that allow them to focus on their communities while they improve and enhance their skill set.

Upcoming Mission Trips

Ohana One is also sponsoring several in-person mission trips this year to Honduras, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua.

Webinar Series

Starting in May, we will be launching a webinar series to highlight best practices and skills that have been learned as a result of our efforts.

Stay up to Date

As we like to remind people, Ohana means family, and this family is definitely one to watch this year!

If you haven’t already, sign up for our Ohana One Insights Newsletter so you can stay informed about all we are accomplishing as a family.

Your donation will impact the lives of patients and surgeons worldwide!

Do you believe every person deserves access to the very best surgical care regardless of where they live? Do you believe that surgeons should have access to the very best training regardless of where they practice and live? If you do, then please make your tax-deductible donation to Ohana One, and make a direct impact on the health and lives of patients worldwide. 

Our 2021 Ohana Team

Board of directors

Michele Dee, MD, President
David Kulber, MD, Vice President
Kylie Tanabe, PA-C, Secretary
Susan K. Laffer, Treasurer
Adrian Ashkenazy
Jennifer Bepple, MD (2022)
Aaron Bregman
Gracie Fermelia
Marshall Geller
Tom Gordon
Harry Levitt
Sharon Oreck (2022)
Garry Pearson
Bill Pope (2022)
Jay Roach
Sandra Rodriguez, RN
Karissa Sharifian
Rob Uhlaner

Advisors to the Board

Joyce Brandman
Andrew Freedman, MD
Mark Urata, DDS, MD

Ohana Team

Marchelle Sellers, MBA
Maggie Bohlman

Rachel Buigas-Lopez
Jadie Delgado
Megan Demijohn
Tarek Elshayal
Nasim Hafiz
Megan McCullough, MD
Emily Martinez
Scott Moe
Key Pearson
Susan Popler
Edward Ray, MD
Marvee Turk, MD
Eva Williams, MD

 

Surgical Team Liaisons

Gracie Baum
Jaxon Baum
Jonathan Browne
Christian Lingamen
Isa Rosenberg

Photographs by Kelly Fogel

Partner companies
Partner NGOS