By Josh Friesen
The stories Alan Akiyama has about his dad map out a lifetime of service across some of Southeast Alaska’s most remote areas.
Henry Akiyama, M.D. ’57, was a cardiologist whose 44-year career is defined by courage, compassion and care for the communities in and around Juneau, Alaska. Whether it was establishing the coronary care unit at Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau, educating EMTs on administering CPR and using portable defibrillators, or helicoptering into the Alaskan wilderness on rescue missions, Henry’s passion for rural cardiac health care was unrivaled. From 1969 to 1982, Henry was at the scene of every cardiac arrest that occurred in Juneau, and he flew 17 helicopter and four fixed-wing rescue missions.
Together with his wife, Grace Akiyama, who championed many nonprofit and philanthropic efforts in Juneau, Henry established his family’s tradition of service, care and giving back. Grace and Henry’s legacy lives on through their son, Alan, who recently established the Akiyama Family Endowed Scholarship to support students at the OHSU School of Medicine.
“OHSU was a very important part of my father’s medical career, and I wanted to acknowledge that. It played just such an important part in my parents’ lives and in my family’s lives.”
Alan Akiyama
OHSU shaped not just Henry’s career, but the trajectory of his family. The tenets of service and philanthropy Alan live by today can be traced back to Henry’s time studying at OHSU, where the story of his work in health care began. The scholarship honors these principles and is a token of gratitude toward OHSU for the impact the institution has had on Alan’s family.
“I learned by the example of how my parents led their lives,” Alan said. “The organizations that have helped us out in the past, I want to give back to them. OHSU was a very important part of my father’s medical career, and I wanted to acknowledge that. It played just such an important part in my parents’ lives and in my family’s lives.”
“I was touched and delighted to learn about the scholarship that Alan set up in memory of his parents,” said Nathan Selden, M.D., Ph.D., FACS, FAAP, dean of the OHSU School of Medicine and executive vice president of OHSU. “His generosity in supporting future generations of physicians from and for the Pacific Northwest is truly meaningful and appreciated. Scholarships are more important than ever before, especially in supporting students from rural areas and for those choosing to return to rural areas to practice.”
Befitting Henry and Grace’s passion for and service in rural areas, the Akiyama Family Endowed Scholarship’s impact focuses first on medical students from Alan’s hometown of Juneau, and it extends outward from there.
Henry grew up in Hood River, Oregon. When he was 14, his family was interned as part of the United States’ forced relocation and incarceration of people of Japanese descent during World War II. After internment, Henry enlisted in the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of sergeant in the all-Nisei 442nd Infantry Regiment, a unit made up of almost all second-generation Japanese-Americans and is revered as the most decorated unit in U.S. military history. When he returned, he used the GI Bill to attend Reed College, where he met his wife, Grace.
Henry and Grace married in 1952, and Henry earned his M.D. from what was then called the University of Oregon Medical School five years later in 1957. After completing his residency at St. Vincent Hospital in Portland, Henry and his family moved to Juneau, where Henry began his legendary career.
Grace passed away in 1996. Henry retired from practicing medicine in 2004 and passed away in 2010.
Along with the scholarship for OHSU School of Medicine students, Alan has also established similar scholarships to support students at the University of Alaska Southeast and Reed College, as well as an Akiyama Family Fund to support the Alaska Youth Choir.
“We want to help young people,” Alan said. “Those are the people that are going to shape and mold our communities down the line.”
When Alan began looking into supporting OHSU last summer, he was struck by how much OHSU’s missions aligned with his family’s, especially when it comes to increasing access to educating the next generation of health care providers.
For Alan, there was no better way to honor his father’s legacy than helping support future physicians passionate about rural health.
“I’ve been pleased from what I’ve learned about OHSU,” Alan said. “There’s a shortage of physicians in rural areas throughout the country. And at OHSU, they’re committed to providing the best care they can, the best education they can.”
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