OUR PROVIDERS

Dr. John Vaz moved to Maui from Washington, DC, with his family in April 2017, and joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center as the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) shortly after. He holds board certifications from the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease.  Dr. Vaz completed medical school at the St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India, in 2006, an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT, in 2011, as well as an Infectious Disease fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD, in 2013. Following several years in medical leadership, he completed a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from the University of Alabama, Birmingham, in 2021.

His focus and passion in clinical care include HIV treatment and prevention (including PrEP), Hepatitis B and C management, LGBTQ care including gender affirming care, and medication-assisted treatment of substance use. During his time as CMO at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center, he focused on helping the organization grow in principles of Trauma Informed Care, raising awareness about social determinants of health and their impact on health and wellness, and promoting both a multidisciplinary team-based & person-centered approach to patient care. Additionally, he worked with different team members at Mālama I Ke Ola to create a gender-affirming primary care clinic, a nursing staff development program, and a medication program for people recovering from opioid use disorder.  In his role as the CEO, he seeks to support the growth of Malama I Ke Ola into a continuous learning organization, with staff who find dignity and joy in practice, while serving patients with trauma-informed healing. He is excited to bring his knowledge and skills in leading the organization and guiding the mission and core values of the health center.

In his free time, he enjoys traveling, exercising, reading, and cooking. He also takes any opportunity available to explore the beautiful island of Maui on hikes or to get out on the water on his paddle board.

Dr. Van Wieren joined the Mālama I Ke Ola team in 2022 as Chief Medical Officer. Andrew most recently served as Chief Medical Officer at Esperanza Health Centers, a federally-qualified health center in Chicago with about 80 medical and behavioral health providers and about 50,000 unique patients. While at Esperanza, Andrew helped: lead significant clinical and program expansion, guide the organization through an electronic health record transition, develop and implement COVID-19 response, and build a nationally recognized clinical quality program.

Andrew is passionate about health equity, clinical and operational quality, and care team redesign. He graduated from the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University and completed his residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital Primary Care Internal Medicine Program at Harvard Medical School. Some of his awards and affiliations include the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, Gold Humanism Honor Society, and National Health Service Corps Scholar.

Andrew is excited to join the Mālama ‘ohana, learn about Hawaiian culture, and share life on Maui with his wife and 2 children.

Amy Nakama is a Family Nurse Practitioner since 2016 working in Women’s Health and Adult Medicine. Amy graduated from Olivet Nazarene University with a Master’s of Science in Nursing and continued to work in the Chicagoland area until moving back to Maui in 2018.

She joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in June 2019.  Her passion has been working in women’s and reproductive health and she is excited to join the Adult Medicine Team at Mālama.  Working with the community of Maui has been her goal since graduating from Maui High School in 1999.

She lives in town with her husband and three children and enjoys running.

Dr. Russell has been a practicing physician for 28 years, and in the medical field for 32. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Maryland College Park in 1986, majoring in Biochemistry. He received his Master of Science degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore in 1987, majoring in Human Anatomy. He studied medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School, in Norfolk, where he earned his Doctor of Medicine degree in 1991.

Moving back to Maryland, Dr. Russell performed his Internal Medicine residency at a community hospital in Northeast Baltimore called Franklin Square. Along the way, he performed several month-long clinical rotations at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and the University of Maryland Hospital. He spent the early and mid-portions of his career in private practice in Maryland, and in 2014 moved to Hawai‘i to be on staff with the Kauai Medical Clinic for three years. The move to Hawai‘i was in part due to his love of Hawai‘i, and in part to care for his ailing, elderly parents who have now passed away. In early 2018, he made his final move to Maui, to join the staff at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center.

Dr. Russell’s wife is originally from Colombia, South America, and is a retired pediatric registered nurse who often performs medical translations for Latino patients. She home schools their fraternal twin children (boy and girl), aged 17. Dr. Russell was a competitive swimmer in his youth and the family greatly enjoys Maui’s swimming, hiking, cultural, and historical opportunities. His plans are to remain on Maui at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center through retirement.

Dr. Mammo moved to Maui and joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center working as an Internist in the Adult Medicine Department in November 2021.  She was most recently at Kaiser Northwest in southern Washington caring for patients in a rural community for about 4 years. Previous to that, she had the opportunity to serve a community clinic in Los Angeles and a Native American medical center in Arizona. She also worked as a primary care physician at a Kaiser clinic in Oahu for several years.

She received her medical education at the University of Kentucky School of Medicine in Lexington Kentucky in 2007, then completed residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Hospital in Richmond Virginia in 2011. She is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

She is happy to back in Hawaii as the people and place had left a lasting impression of warmth and connection during her time in Oahu. She is looking forward to serving and being part of this community.

She loves traveling and spends her free time here hiking and exploring the beautiful island of Maui.

In 2009, Tina began her nursing career at Hale Makua as an LPN.  Prior to entering the nursing field, she obtained her BS in Family Resource Management with a focus on child development from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2007.  In 2011, she completed her RN associate degree with Maui Community College and worked as an RN case manager with Na Puuwai on Molokai and Lanai.  She found a passion for serving the healthcare needs of our native Hawaiian population and developed a goal to become a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP).  Simultaneously, she moved into acute care as an RN at Maui Memorial Medical Center while working on her Master’s degree in Nursing with Simmons College and graduated in 2018.  She completed her FNP new graduate Residency Program at Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center.  While both working and completing coursework, she worked as a home health case manager at Kaiser Permanente while taking on the role of motherhood.

When there’s free time, Tina enjoys being outdoors surfing, running, mountain biking, swimming, and spending time with family.

Christina Nardi is a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a Master’s of Science in Nursing in 2012 and worked as a nurse in community health. She went on to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and FNP certification from the University of San Francisco in 2016. She started her FNP career in Emergency Medicine and Urgent Care prior to transitioning to Primary Care. Christina joined the Mālama I Ke Ola Adult Medicine department in 2021 and is honored to care for the Maui community.

Christina graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in Psychology and is passionate about mental health. She is also passionate about nursing education and has taught at the University of San Francisco and University of Hawaii.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her dogs, family, and friends. She loves to travel, scuba dive, paddle boarding, and whale season.

Dr. O’Sullivan first joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in 2016 and just returned in 2022 from a year working as a doctor in Aotearoa New Zealand. As a family doctor, she sees patients in both the pediatric and adult departments.

Dr. O’Sullivan graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 2000 and completed her family medicine residency in Santa Rosa, California in 2003. She is board certified in Family Medicine. In addition, she completed a faculty development fellowship at the University of Washington in 2007.

She is passionate about supporting her patients in reaching their optimal state of health. She enjoys taking care of families from birth until the end of life. Special clinical interests include supporting the emotional health and well-being of children and their Ohana, encouraging the vaccination of our keiki, women’s health, office procedures, addiction medicine, and affirming care of transgender and gender non-binary people.  She is fluent in Spanish.

Dr. O’Sullivan loves living on Maui with her family.  In her free time she enjoys yoga, surfing,  gardening, painting, cooking and hiking.

Kathleen Kearns, MD, FAAFP is a native of the Los Angeles area. She graduated medical school at University of California San Francisco in 1997, and finished family medicine residency training at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, CA in 2000.  Following training, she chose to practice in the Modesto area of California’s Central Valley, an area that faces a significant shortage of doctors, from 2001-2021.  She served as full–time faculty at the Valley Family Medicine Residency, and became the Program Director in 2012.  While at the residency program, she cared for all ages of patients in both safety net clinic and hospital settings, and was most passionate about providing family-centered maternity care and delivering babies.  In addition, she oversaw the launch of the county’s first LGBTQ+ focused teaching clinic, which increased local access to gender affirming care.

Dr. Kearns is fluent in Spanish and has a passion for travel, with volunteer experience in Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.   She cherishes time outdoors, and enjoys yoga and hiking and animals, once the proud mother of four dogs and four cats at once.  After the pandemic, Dr. Kearns felt ready for a life change and decided to move to Maui.  She currently lives with her husband, a long-time resident, and their two cats.

Dr. Altura has been practicing OB/GYN at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center since January of 1996. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of California, Davis in 1986. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine in 1991. After completing his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in 1995, he was hired to establish the OB/GYN department at Community Clinic of Maui (now Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center). He is passionate about serving all residents of Maui from multi-ethnic backgrounds.

Dr. Altura is the OB/GYN Department Head at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. He currently serves on the Medical Executive Committee of Maui Memorial Medical Center.
Born in San Francisco, California and raised in Manila, Philippines from age 6 to 19, Dr. Altura speaks English and Tagalog fluently. Having swum competitively in college and having participated in numerous Triathlons and Marathons for over 16 years, he is a sports junkie. A highlight of his athletic pursuits includes qualifying and competing in the Boston Marathon in 2003 and the Ironman World Triathlon Championships in Kona in 2004. He is well traveled, having visited 64 countries to date.

Duffy Casey completed his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point in 2003, and received his Doctorate of Medicine from Eastern Virginia Medical School in 2009.  He joined the staff of Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center after completing his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine in 2013.  Dr. Casey was recognized by the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists during his residency for exceptional skills performing minimally invasive surgery, and has published in the Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology.  He is proficient at high-level ultrasounds, affording 3D and 4D fetal ultrasound images as an option for patients, and on-site evaluations/diagnoses of gynecological abnormalities and conditions.

Dr. Casey is passionate about international development and creating holistic programs which focus on poverty alleviation in developing countries.  In 2003 he co-founded Global Brigades, Inc., and currently serves as on the Board of Directors as Vice Chair.  Global Brigades empowers student volunteers and under-resourced communities to collaboratively resolve crucial global health and economic disparities, and is the largest international nonprofit organization of its kind.  Dr. Casey was a recipient of the Gold Medal for the United States President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2008 for his work with Global Brigades.

Dr. Casey strives to apply his values of patient empowerment, transparency, collaborative medical care, and a holistic approach to the care he provides.  He is also passionate about increasing health equity and improving outcomes for underserved individuals on Maui.

Dr. Johnson is board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology. She graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine and completed her residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Hawai‘i. She has been serving our patients at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center since 2014.

In 2018, Dr. Johnson realized her dream of offering group prenatal care in our clinic with the implementation of the P3 (Pregnancy and Parenting Partners) Program. Created by the University of Colorado and supported by grants from the March of Dimes and the Atherton Foundation, P3 promotes patient-centered education in groups of 8-10 women due around the same time.

Dr. Johnson enjoys yoga, barre, and traveling.

Dr. Aaronoff joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in 2017. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree at The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD in 1990. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA in 1994. After completing his residency in Obstetrics in Gynecology at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA in 1998, he accepted a job as a staff OB/GYN at the Gwinnett Medical Center in Georgia.

Dr. Aaronoff moved to Hawai‘i in 2005 and was hired as an Assistant Professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i. From 2006-2017, he was the Associate Residency Program Director of OB/GYN and Women’s Health. In 2006 and 2013, he received a National Faculty Award while at the University of Hawai‘i.

In his free time, Dr. Aaronoff enjoys spending time with his beautiful girlfriend, Dr. Pam. He also enjoys playing golf and traveling.

Heather is a Certified Nurse Midwife and Board-Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She began helping pregnant and birthing families in 2000 as a doula and has worked in many different roles over the last 18 years. In 2016 she obtained a Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of California, San Francisco with a specialty in Nurse-Midwifery and Women’s Health.

Prior to joining the Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center team in February 2019, Heather delivered babies in a birthing center in California and provided care to Maui families in a private OB/GYN clinic. As part of the OB/GYN department she cares for pregnant and postpartum patients, women’s health needs, and delivers babies at Maui Memorial Medical Center.

Heather was raised in upcountry Maui and is happy to be returning home. She is the mother of two children, and in her spare time you will find her playing in the ocean or hiking.

Dr. Monji earned her Doctorate of Medicine from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine in 1991. She completed her residency at University of California, San Francisco in 1995.  She is board certified by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She has served as Chief of OB/GYN department, Chief of Staff, and Board President at her former hospital.

She currently continues to serve as a peer review physician for the Oregon Medical Board. She has a special interest in minimally invasive surgery and served as a proctor for Intuitive Surgical DaVinci Robotic System.

In her free time, she enjoys exercising, scuba diving, and relaxing on the beach with her husband. She is passionate about giving back to the community and helping those who may otherwise be underserved. She is thrilled to be on Maui and happy to be a part of the Mālama I Ke Ola Ohana.

Dr. Simonson has been a Pediatrician at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center since 2014, when she moved to Maui from New Orleans, Louisiana with her husband Dylan. Maui was the perfect home for the pair as Dylan is a marine biologist and Dr. Simonson prefers to work with underserved children. Dr. Simonson is from rural Kansas and was born to a truck driver father and mom who was a school cook and now a teacher. Dr. Simonson’s love of science and tendency to be a “people person” propelled her towards medicine. The joy she experienced around children made pediatrics an easy choice. She has two children of her own, Coral and Cove, and is currently experiencing the trials of parenthood from breastfeeding to tantrums.

Dr. Simonson graduated from medical school at the University of Kansas and then residency at Louisiana State University and is board certified with the American Board of Pediatrics. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She maintains privileges at Maui Memorial Medical Center and serves on the Pediatric Performance Improvement Committee.

Dr. Simonson has been enamored with the diversity of Maui and loves to practice her Spanish and Pidgin with the keiki of Maui.

Dr. Rivera is a board certified Pediatrician and a graduate of the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at New Orleans. Dr. Rivera joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in 2018. She is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and has clinical interests in sports medicine and preventative care, including vaccination and oral health.

She lives in town with her husband and young son. They enjoy playing outside together, and especially enjoy playing her favorite sport, basketball. For Dr. Rivera, pediatrics is FUN, and she feels like she is surrounded by a wonderful tribe of people who take care of each other as if they were family. She strives to provide the best medical care for your keiki.

Dr. Melissa Kim joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center’s Pediatric family in March 2020. Melissa is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics and a graduate of Loma Linda University School of Medicine in California.

She met her spouse during med school, and they completed their residencies at the University of Kentucky prior to embarking on a year of travel work in Washington and Hawaiʻi and then to Florida where Melissa served as a community pediatric hospitalist/urgent care in an affiliated facility of Nemours Children’s Hospital and would frequently travel to a hospital near Port-au-Prince, Haiti where her husband served in their ER.

After their first child was born in 2018, the family moved to Maui, where Melissa worked as a Hospitalist at Maui Memorial Medical Center. Melissa is part of the FAAP and Hawaiʻi chapter of the AAP. She currently sits on a preschool board, is active in her local church, and involved in our community.  Areas of particular interest include lifestyle and global health, Hawaiʻian culture, other languages, music, and performing arts. She hopes to meet your keiki soon and will care for them like her own ohana.

Dr. Nead is a Primary Care Psychologist and a graduate of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. He completed his clinical internship at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida, and completed post-doctoral fellowships in Health Psychology at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center and in Behavioral Health/Behavioral Medicine at Chase Brexton Health Services in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Nead is also a former Fulbright Scholar to Israel, where he researched psychological assessment in the Israeli deaf community.

Dr. Nead joined the staff of Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in 2017, and has been working in the field of Health Psychology since 2013 with an emphasis in chronic and infectious diseases. He believes patients should be active participants in their own healthcare and works with indivuduals to help them better manage their own physical and emotional health. He is a member of the American Psychological Association, the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, the Society for Behavioral Medicine, and the Hawaii Psychological Association.

Outside of work, Dr. Nead is an avid reader, foreign-film watcher, and traveler. Since moving to Maui he has learned to scuba dive and is re-learning to play the piano. He is fluent in American Sign Language.

Helen is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Certified Tobacco Treatment Practitioner, and has been helping people make positive health changes for over 12 years. From 2006-2010, she was the Maui County Program Coordinator for the American Lung Association in Hawai’i. From 2009-2010, she was the Interim Coordinator for the Coalition for Tobacco Free Hawai’i.

In April 2010, she was invited to join Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. She holds three certificates in tobacco treatment: one from the University of Arizona, one from the Mayo Clinic, and one for national certification in tobacco treatment practice (NTTP). In 2013, she was chosen as the Outstanding Service Provider in Tobacco Control by the Coalition for Tobacco Free Hawaii (CTFH). In 2016, Ms. Barrow graduated with honors from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, receiving her Master of Science Degree from the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, specializing in behavioral mental health. During graduate school, she was a member of the Phi Alpha Honor Society.

In her free time, she practices yoga, Pilates, gardens and goes to the beach.

Leonani has worked as a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor since 2003. She joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in November 2018. She was born and raised on Maui and graduated from Kamehameha Schools. She also graduated from University of West Oahu with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science with an emphasis in Addiction Studies. She enjoys working in health care being able to help the diverse community of Maui.

Maile has been a Substance Abuse Counselor since 2004 and earned her credentialing both on an international and state level in 2008. She is born and raised in Hawai’i and graduated from the University of Hawai‘i with an associate’s degree in Human Services in 2009 and later earned her bachelor’s degree in Social Science in 2012.

She joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in November 2019. Maile has extensive background serving in a variety of capacities including, anger management, family strengthening, cultural programs, and the judicial system, including prison- community reintegration programs.

Maile enjoys the beach, fishing, traveling, and spending time with her family. She is passionate about her field and the community she serves.

Nadia Hussain, originally born and raised in Brooklyn, NY is a Registered Dietitian who re-joined the Mālama I Ke Ola ohana in April of 2021. Nadia received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry with a specialty in Organic Chemistry Research at Pace University in New York City. She then furthered her education at Herbert H. Lehman College in the Bronx, NY where she obtained her Master of Science degree in Nutrition and completed her dietetic internship.

Nadia has many years of extensive experience working with different cultures within long term care facilities, physician’s offices and dialysis centers especially serving the diabetic and chronic kidney disease populations. She holds a deep passion for nutrition, health equity and working with the community advocating for nutrition education and awareness particularly amongst the underserved. She believes nutrition is more than just food and has roots deeply connected to spiritual, cultural and mindful practices. She believes in helping and educating people on how to create a holistic and healthy relationship with food, while integrating one’s cultural beliefs and individualized needs all to create long lasting changes.

Nadia was beyond excited to re-join the Mālama ohana and offer her services to the community. She enjoys spending time with her daughter, especially in nature at the beach, hiking, swimming, exercising at the park, immersing themselves in the culture and of course, eating all different types of food.

Dr. Shin is the Dental Director at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. He was born in South Korea but raised in Dallas, Texas. He went to college at Texas A&M and graduated dental school at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2011.

Dr. Shin joined Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center in 2018 and is full-time clinical faculty for NYU Langone Advanced Education in General Dentistry Hawai’i Site. He chose to practice at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center because we share a belief in providing community-centered, relationship-based, and comprehensive care that is tailored to fit into patients’ lives.

During his free time, he enjoys outdoor activities with his lovely wife, 2 boys and his Boston Terrier.

Dr. Shin is currently a member of American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, Hawaii Dental Association and Fellow of International Congress of Oral Implantologists. He is on track to Fellowship with the Academy of General Dentistry.

Dr. Jaydene McDaniel is a board certified pediatric dentist. She was born and raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. She attended UNLV School of Dental Medicine and then stayed at UNLV to complete a 2-year residency program in pediatric dentistry. She is a member of the Omicron Kappa Upsilon dental honors society and is a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Jaydene is happy to be back in her home state and to serve her community. She is committed to providing a positive and comfortable dental experience for all of her patients. When she is not in clinic she enjoys spending time with her family, gaming, and gardening.

Dr. Chung is a staff dentist at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. Born in Massachusetts, he lived in 6 different places growing up. He completed his undergraduate degree at Yale and his dental school at Harvard School of Dental Medicine. After dental school, he completed residency at the NYU Langone AEGD program at Malama I Ke Ola and decided to stay as full-time staff. He is excited to continue serving the community of Maui!

Dr. Chung is passionate about public health and is a National Health Service Corps Scholar. Outside of clinic, Dr. Chung enjoys playing video games and snorkeling/diving with his partner, David. He also enjoys a variety of crafts, including sewing, quilting, and painting.