One of the two people that Governor Lolo nominated for the Board of Directors of the Hospital Authority Board, Dr. Saipale Fuimaono has asked that his name be withdrawn.
During the last Fono session, the governor had nominated Dr. Fuimaono and Filifaatali Mike Fuiava to the board as replacements for Chairman Leilua Mase Akapo and Vice Chairman Tofaeono Dr. Victor Tofaeono.
But on December 29, the governor wrote to the Fono leaders saying that at the request of Dr. Fuimaono he was withdrawing his nomination, and was nominating Dr. Tamasoalii Joseph Tufa instead.
Dr. Tufa is currently Medical Director at the Department of Health.
When LBJ Hospital was separated from DOH he was the first Director of Health under the new arrangement.
Before that he was deputy director for several years.
The governor said Dr. Tufa almost 40 years of experience as a medical director and public health administrator gives him a comprehensive and invaluable understanding of the unique health challenges in the territory.
Dr. Tufa holds a diploma of surgery from the Fiji School of Medicine, a Master of Public Health from the University of Hawaii and a Bachelor of Arts from California Western University.
