By William C. Patton ’69

Published in the ALUMNI JOURNAL spring 2023

Elmar P. Sakala ’73-B was named the 2023 Alumnus of the Year at the 91st Annual Postgraduate Convention Gala.

Dr. Sakala was born in London, and his family emigrated to Canada when he was 8 years old. He graduated from Okanagan Adventist Academy in British Columbia in 1960, then received an Associate of Arts degree from Canadian Union College in 1963 before graduating from Walla Walla College (WWC) with a BA in Business Administration in 1965. It was there that he met and married his wife of 56 years and the love of his life, Darilee Faith Allen.

He earned an MA in Education from WWC in 1968 before being accepted to medical school at LLU. In 1973, he fulfilled his childhood dream of being a doctor when he received his MD degree. During his 39 months of medical school, he also completed a Master of Public Health in maternal nutrition. Busy fellow, “our Elmar”—no surprise to those of us who know him well.

After completing his residency in OB-GYN at University of Oregon Health Sciences Center in 1978, Dr. Sakala was recruited to join the LLU OB-GYN faculty by Harold F. Ziprick ’37, chair of OB-GYN at the time. Dr. Ziprick had recruited Robert J. Wagner ’69 and me (William C. Patton ’69) in 1973 and the three of us became the “young guns” of the department. Little did we know then that we would remain here as friends, practice partners, and teachers for another 45 years.

In 1984, Dr. Sakala became the first fellow in maternal-fetal medicine here at Loma Linda, completing that fellowship in 1986. He was board certified in obstetrics and gynecology in 1981 and maternal-fetal medicine in 1988.

Dr. Sakala is a master teacher. I always refer to him (correctly) as the “King of Power Point.” For more than ten years early in his career, he served as director of the OB-GYN medical student clerkship. Under his leadership it was the first clerkship in the School of Medicine to initiate Objective Structured Clinical Evaluations (OSCEs). Many generations of medical students will remember Dr. Sakala utilizing their fully clothed male classmates with feet in the exam table stirrups to show them how to properly position and drape a patient for a pelvic exam.

A little later he introduced Gynecological Teaching Associates (GTA’s) to the OB-GYN clerkship. The GTA is a woman who, after special training, allows a medical student to perform a breast and pelvic examination on her, providing immediate feedback regarding their clinical skills, language, and professional approach. He authored two OB-GYN review books for medical students, Board Review Series and High Yield Series, that have been used by thousands of medical students.

Dr. Sakala has taught as a visiting professor at University of Vienna (twice), Philippine Union College in Manila, and Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital in Hangzhou, China. He was part of the LLUSM team that traveled to Moscow to establish the Russian Adventist Medical Society. He has presented OB-GYN review courses for over 20 years for Kaplan Medical, helping thousands of foreign medical graduates pass the USMLE 2 and 3 exams, and has lectured in Thailand, Guam, Hong Kong, Estonia, and Vietnam.

Let’s not forget that Dr. Sakala had to practice medicine as a full partner in the OB-GYN department while doing all this teaching. He is a superb clinician and organizer. Dr. Sakala served as director of perinatal outreach, establishing relationships with all Inland Empire hospitals with obstetric units, working closely with the first neonatologists at LLU, Orville Ward
Swarner JR. ’65 and Chul Cha (SM FAC) to provide continuing education to the medical staff of those hospitals, encouraging them to transport pregnant mothers with complicated pregnancies to LLU for care rather than neonatal transports of sick newborns.

Here are just a few of his many awards and honors. He was a three-time recipient of the School of Medicine Clinical Teacher of the Year Award. He was OB-GYN lecturer for the Physician Assistants program for many years and was awarded their Outstanding Teacher Award in 2007. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and Delta Omega, the public health honor society. He was the recipient of the Don F. Neufeld Medallion of Excellence Award from Canadian Union College Alumni Association in 1993.

He is a Diamond Perpetual Life Member of the Alumni Association of Loma Linda University School of Medicine, a Life Member of the Walter E. Macpherson Society, and has actively kept members of the class of 1973-B connected as class representative.

The first time I ever saw Dr. Sakala, I was a resident and he was leading out in Sabbath School at the University Church. I remember his poised, friendly manner and articulate speaking ability. As a long-time member of the Calimesa Adventist Church, he has coordinated the Contemporary Issues Sabbath School class for over 40 years, served two terms as chair of the Mesa Grande Academy school board, and been part of the Calimesa saxophone trio for over 25 years. He is well known for his devotional homilies that use fascinating obstetric cases that he has managed as sources for spiritual inspiration.

Dr. Sakala retired from the clinical practice of maternal-fetal medicine in 2021 but continues to actively teach residents and students as professor of OB-GYN. I recently asked him what he would like to be remembered for most, and he replied without hesitation, “I’m a teacher of medicine.” I knew that would be his answer! He has certainly been that, and much more. It has been my honor and pleasure to be his friend and colleague for all these years. ν

Dr. Patton, a specialist in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, is professor and past chair of gynecology and obstetrics at Loma Linda University School of Medicine. He is a longtime friend and colleague of Dr. Sakala.