DOH Doctor to Receive Suzanne Richmond-Crum Award

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) Harm Reduction Services Branch reports that Cecilia Shikuma, MD, will receive the 2018 Suzanne Richmond-Crum Award for her outstanding contributions to HIV/AIDS services in Hawai‘i. The award will be presented during the annual World AIDS Day ceremony at the Church of the Crossroads in Honolulu, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 1.

For more than 30 years, Shikuma has been a researcher, director, grant reviewer, mentor, clinical care provider, founder and consultant for local, national and international clinicians. As a professor at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, she helped establish the Hawai‘i Center for AIDS and an HIV clinic at University of Hawai’i at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine. Shikuma has worked diligently to promote HIV research in Hawai‘i, which has been recognized nationally and internationally. She treats people living with HIV with dignity and makes every effort to be holistic in her care.

Locally, Shikuma’s vision is for Hawai’i to be the first state to achieve an AIDS-free generation through the “Hawai‘i to Zero” initiative. She is leading the charge and collaborates with DOH and AIDS service organizations throughout the state to make resources available that further the goal of achieving “Hawai’i to Zero.”

“Dr. Shikuma has gone above and beyond the call of duty in making sure the care provided to patients in the Clint Spencer Clinic is state of the art,” said Dr. Bruce Shiramizu, MD, of the Hawai‘i Center for AIDS/Clint Spencer Clinic and professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine. “The impact of Dr. Shikuma’s efforts are evident in providing HIV-expertise on Hawai’i Island and Maui. Her untiring energy personifies the dedication that she lives for and for the causes she believes in. Her outstanding contributions in providing and improving HIV/AIDS care throughout Hawai‘i have benefited patients, partners, families, organizations and professionals.”

The award is given each year in memory of Suzanne Richmond-Crum, former director of the Hawai‘i Seropositivity and Medical Management Program of DOH’s Harm Reduction Services Branch, which honors her exemplary work in providing HIV-related care and AIDS prevention services. Shikuma will be the 15th recipient of the award.

This year’s World AIDS Day and Suzanne Richmond-Crum Award presentation is open to the public. For more information on World AIDS Day in Hawai‘i, visit online.