The Queen’s Health System (QHS) has announced the following appointments.
Matthew Sasai has been promoted to Director of Supply Chain Operations and Logistics.
Sasai is responsible for the management and administration of warehouse operations, and overseeing the planning and forecasting of medical-surgical inventory levels. He will provide oversight to all perpetual inventories, as well as guidance to leaders across the system in establishing goals and objectives.
Sasai joined QHS in 2016 as manager of Demand and Inventory, where he helped to implement supply chain management modules into the organization’s operations. He later transferred to Operational Excellence, where he helped to improve clinical and operational performance in labor management and productivity. In 2021, he joined the Strategic and Business Planning team as a project manager, supporting senior leadership with strategic merger and acquisition projects.
Sasai previously served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he specialized in aviation supply and logistics. He received his Bachelor of Science in Ocean Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and his Executive Master of Business Administration from the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is a Certified Materials and Resource Professional (CMRP) with the American Hospital Association, and a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt.
Lilinoe Watanabe has been named Director of Capital Asset Management.
Watanabe will be responsible for driving supplier quality and service performance, cost savings, continuous improvement initiatives, supplier innovation, and risk management activities. She will also support the development, planning and implementation of sourcing strategies that deliver the best value, price, compliance and efficiencies.
Watanabe has been with QHS for more than 20 years. She served as chief financial officer during the construction and startup of North Hawai‘i Community Hospital, and has held leadership roles in Surgical Services and Information Technology. Most recently, she was the Director of Finance, managing budgets, forecasts and capital for departments, performing financial analyses, and implementing financial initiatives.
Prior to QHS, Watanabe worked in financial and operational leadership positions at Kapi‘olani Medical Center, Pali Momi Medical Center, and Kaiser Permanente. She graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Administration.
Keane Young has been promoted to Director of Value Analysis.
Young is responsible for developing and directing complex sourcing strategies, and managing suppliers and internal and external networks to deliver best-in-class performance for the relevant spend area. He will also optimize contract relationships, find innovative solutions to deliver cost efficiencies to create enhanced value, and ensure that contracts are fiscally sound to the organization.
Young joined QHS in 2019 as manager of Demand and Inventory in Supply Chain Management. He helped to build the Interventional Procedural Value Analysis Team, which partnered with physicians and clinical staff to consolidate the Probe Cover, Peripheral Vascular, and Cardiac Rhythm Management product categories, which resulted in annual savings. During the COVID-19 surges, he worked with medical suppliers and supply chain managers to build stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) for the system.
Young previously worked at Hawai‘i Pacific Health, where he was instrumental in reintroducing the Medical-Surgical and Surgical Value Analysis teams, resulting in standardization and savings.
