By Patrick J Dunne, MEd RRT FAARC, ICRC Governor (USA)

ICRC President Dr. Jerome Sullivan awarded the eighth Toshihiko Koga Medal to Dr. Louis Sinopoli at the International Reception, held this past December in Las Vegas in conjunction with the 2014 AARC Respiratory Congress. Dr. Sinopoli was recognized for his innovative and tireless efforts to develop the ICRC’s most prestigious (and popular) International Education Recognition System (IERS). Dr. Joan Taylor-Sinopoli graciously accepted the award on behalf of her husband, who passed away unexpectedly earlier in the year.

The Koga Medal is the ICRC’s highest honor and was established in 2007 to honor the memory and contributions of the late Dr. Toshihiko Koga in the globalization of respiratory care. Dr. Koga was one of the original AARC International Fellows in 1994 and, upon completion of his fellowship, quickly set about promoting the growth of quality respiratory care throughout his home country of Japan. One of his first activities in this endeavor was to translate into Japanese several of AARC’s Clinical Practice Guidelines, and later, selected articles from RESPIRATORY CARE, the profession’s prestigious scientific journal.

Past Koga Medal recipients from left to right – Derek Glinsman, Michael Amato, Dr. Hector Leon-Garza, Patrick Dunne, Chia-Chen Chu, Bill Kashiwazaki.

Dr. Koga was also a founding member of the ICRC, was one of the original ICRC governors (representing Japan), and was elected to the ICRC Executive Committee where he served with distinction until his untimely passing in 2004. His extensive contributions as a founding member of ICRC are in evidence to this day.

Past recipients of the Koga Medal are: Michael Amato (2007), Chia-Chen Chu (2008), Derek Glinsman (2009), Gary Smith (2010), Patrick Dunne (2011), Bill Kashiwazaki (2012), and Dr. Hector Leon-Garza (2013).