Toshihiko Koga, MD International Medal

The International Council for Respiratory Care (ICRC) continues to benefit from the professional and humanitarian contributions of the late Dr. Toshihiko Koga, one of the founding members of the ICRC.

Through his dedication and visionary thinking, Dr. Koga significantly contributed to the development and globalization of respiratory care. Following his untimely passing in 2004, the ICRC voted unanimously to establish this award in his honor and memory. Now, bestowed annually since 2007, the Koga Medal, the ICRC’s most prestigious award, recognizes an individual for excellence in promoting the globalization of quality respiratory care.

Toshihiko Koga, MD

Dr. Koga accomplished much in a very short period of time. He was recognized as a leading advocate for high quality respiratory care in Japan, where he sponsored and organized numerous seminars throughout the country. He also served as the President for The Pan Pacific Forum on Respiratory Care. In the early 1990s, he began formal meetings with representatives of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC). Soon thereafter, many were invited to Japan to share their expert knowledge at one or more of his various seminars. In 1994, Dr. Koga was selected as an ARCF International Fellow, allowing him to spend two weeks observing the practice of respiratory care in the US.

Dr. Koga later established formal agreements with the AARC to translate into Japanese certain Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG’s), as well as selected articles from the journal Respiratory Care and AARC Times. In addition to being a founding member of the ICRC, until his passing, Dr. Koga served with distinction an ICRC Governor for Japan, and as a member of the ICRC Executive Committee.

It is in this spirit and in continuing recognition of Dr. Toshihiko Koga, that the ICRC recognize an individual for excellence in promoting the globalization of quality respiratory care.

KOGA Award

Selection Criteria for the Dr. Toshihiko Koga Medal

Recipients of the Koga Medal will have demonstrated, by example, a commitment to:

Cooperating at the international level with professionals and organizations joining together to raise awareness of the increasing mortality and morbidity associated with respiratory disease.
Promoting quality care for patients suffering from respiratory disease and establishing systems and organizational structures to improve the level of care.
Advocating the importance of adherence to the highest level of integrity in all interactions with patients, colleagues and related organizations.
Supporting the absolute necessity for life-long learning as a requisite for the successful advancement of international cooperation.
Facilitating humanitarian efforts designed to enhance cultural integration between professionals in different countries interested in the globalization of respiratory care.
Endorsing an open and supportive approach to the development of respiratory care as practiced by individuals with differing credentials in their respective countries.
KOGA Award

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

Past Recipients

 

2023 Daniel D. Rowley
2022 Dr. Jerome Sullivan
2021 Dr. Michael D. Davis
2020 Tim A. Larson
2019 Brian Oka
2018 Hassan Alorainy
2017 Dr. Norihiro Kaneko
2016 Dr. Lisa Trujillo
2015 Lonny J. Ashworth
2014 Dr. Louis Sinopoli,
received by his wife
2013 Dr. Hector Leon-Garza
2012 Bill Kashiwasaki
2011 Patrick Dunne
2010 Gary Smith
2009 Derek Glinsman
2008 Chia-Chen Chu
2007 Michael Amato
2007 Mrs. Kazue Koga

2007 was the first inauguration of the Koga Medal. It was presented to both Michael Amato and Toshihiko Koga’s wife.