Maui Memorial Medical Center Medical Staff New Chief of Staff

Maui Health has named Vijak Ayasanonda, MD, as the Maui Memorial Medical Center Medical Staff’s new Chief of Staff, effective Jan. 1, 2022.

Under his new assignment, Dr. Ayasanonda is responsible for providing leadership and guidance to the MMMC medical staff and promoting effective communication between the medical staff and Maui Health administration.

Dr. Ayasanonda has over 20 years of experience as a physician and has spent the last 16 years as an emergency medicine physician in Hawaiʻi, as part of Emergent Medical Associations physician group. In 2008, he relocated to Maui from Queens Medical Center on Oʻahu, to care for Maui residents and visitors in MMMC’s Emergency Department and has been an active member of MMMC’s Medical Staff, previously serving as the Emergency Medicine Chair.

“Over the years, I have seen the evolution of our hospital into a center of health care and resources for our community,” said Ayasanonda. “The pandemic, as challenging as it has been, has brought our community and hospitals closer than ever before with more cooperation and communication both within and outside our hospital walls. I intend to continue this momentum and build on the incredible work and accomplishments of Past Chief of Staff Dr. Constantin Novoselsky, who I am grateful for, and to the great medical staff leaders before him.”

“Dr. Ayasanonda is well-known for his collaborative and team-centered approach to planning and implementing new processes, protocols and services,” according to the Maui Health announcement. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, he has been actively involved in Maui Health’s Emergency Operations Center and has helped create and implement surge plans to ensure our emergency departments at MMMC, Kula Hospital and Lānaʻi Community Hospital can quickly expand bed capacity and resources to care for a surge in patients due to COVID-19. He is also an advocate for continued communication with providers and community members and frequently volunteers for outreach and education opportunities in the community.”

“We are excited for Vijak’s leadership and commitment to engaging the entire medical staff on the many important initiatives planned for the next two years,” said Maui Health CEO Mike Rembis. “Our physicians, leadership teams, and employees continue to step up to provide quality, compassionate care for all our patients during an incredibly challenging time. With Vijak leading the medical staff in partnership with all of our community providers, I know we will get to the other side of this pandemic stronger and even more resilient than before.”

Dr. Ayasanonda earned his Doctor of Medicine from Wayne State University of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. His professional memberships include American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Medical Association, where he is active in both the national and local (Hawaiʻi) branches.