2019 TOFSA Awardee
Dr. Anatolio B. Cruz, Jr
Dr. Anatolio B. Cruz, Jr. was born on June 20, 1933 to parents, Dr. Anatolio B. Cruz, Sr. and Francisca Fermin Cruz. He is the oldest of 9 (5 sisters and 3 brothers). The first and his earliest conscious recollections of growing up in the Army Camp Murphy Grounds, where the family lived, until just before the outbreak of World War II. The family was forced to evacuate and eventually settled in a small town of San Juan, just outside the eastern outskirts of Manila. This was home for a few years until 1944 when the liberation from the Japanese occupation was carried out by the US Armed Forces. The family moved back to Quezon City, close to the original home in Camp Murphy.
Upon completion of his primary and secondary education, he gained admission to the University of the Philippines, where he completed his pre-med and medical degrees. Shortly after his graduation, he was accepted to continue his graduate training in Surgery at the University of Minnesota, where he completed his training in General Thoracic Vascular Surgery. He graduated with a Master of Science Degree in Surgery. During his medial training in Minnesota, he invented the Cruz-Kaster Floating Heart Valve.
He went back to the Philippines and was teaching at one of the universities in Manila. It was a short stint of practice and teaching, due to the fact, that one of his former professors in Minnesota, offered him a position, as a faculty member of the South Texas Medical School, now known as the University of Texas Health of San Antonio.
He rose in the rank to full professor of Surgery and became chief of Surgical Oncology. He participated in numerous clinical/ investigational trials of novel treatments of cancer, namely of breast, G.I, and Head and Neck Cancer.
Dr. Cruz is one of the founding faculty of UT Health San Antonio. He is married to the former Rosalina Sedillo, a practice Marriage and Family Therapist. They have four children:
Raquel Cruz Bono, M.D., the oldest, a 3-star admiral, Director of DefenseHealth.
Anatolio B. Cruz III, Lawyer, Rear Admiral, USNA REt.
Anthony B. Cruz, BS in Communication/ CEO, Captain Texas National Guard (deceased)
Roselle Cruz Osterman, MBA, formerly with Wells Fargo Bank as
2019 TOFSA Awardee
Nelson Tuazon, DNP, DBA, RN, NEA-BC, CENP, CPHQ, CPPS, FNAP, FACHE
Born in Apalit, Pampanga and raised in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines
Vice President & Associate Chief Nursing Officer, University Health System
Visiting Professor, Chamberlain University and Adjunct Professor, Excelsior College
Dr. Tuazon has been in the nursing profession for over 35 years encompassing clinical practice, academia, research, administration and executive practice. He has successfully and effectively led organizations with outstanding clinical, operational, and financial outcomes. Dr. Tuazon completed his bachelor’s degree in nursing and his master’s degree in education from Angeles University in the Philippines, his masters of science in nursing from Seton Hall University, master’s in business administration from Monmouth University, Doctor of Business Administration from Northcentral University, and Doctor of Nursing Practice from Grand Canyon University. He is a Diplomate and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the National Academies of Practice as a Distinguished Practitioner in Nursing. In 2008, he received the prestigious designation as a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. Dr. Tuazon is the recipient of the Visionary Award from the College of Nursing at University of Texas Health and Leadership Excellence Awards from the Philippine Nurses Association of San Antonio and the Philippine Nurses Association of America. He was also a recipient of the New Jersey Governor’s Nursing Merit Nursing Leadership Award and was recognized by the Nursing Spectrum for Advancing and Leading the Nursing Profession. Dr. Tuazon received recognition from the Honorable Mayor Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio for his outstanding contribution in his profession. He has been a recipient of the Dangal ng Lahi (loose translation: Honor for the Filipino Race) Award in Healthcare by the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.
Dr. Tuazon has held elective and appointive offices including: President of the Philippine Nurses Association of San Antonio, President of the South Central Texas Organization of Nurse Executives, and Vice-President and Parliamentarian of the Philippine Nurses Association of America. Most recently, he founded the San Antonio Nursing Consortium – a professional association that is composed of 12 professional nursing associations in San Antonio and South Texas whose goal is to unify the nurses across San Antonio and the surrounding region. Dr. Tuazon has served in various professional committees for national associations. He is a member of the education and communication committee of the Texas Organization of Nurse Executives, an Abstract Reviewer for the Nursing Academies of Practice, a member of the Scholarship and Awards Committee of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, and the Legislative Committee of the Philippine American Nurses Association of America.
Dr. Tuazon was the inaugural Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the Philippine Nurses Association of America and currently serves as the Managing Editor of the Journal of Nursing Practice Applications and Reviews of Research.
Recently, he served as the Editor of the historical book, The Philippine Nurses Association of America: A Tapestry. The book chronicles the 40 year-history of the Filipino-American nurses in America. Dr. Tuazon has served as member of the Board of Directors of the Organization of Filipinos in Texas, the American Asian Alliance of San Antonio, the Alamo Asian American Chamber of Commerce and the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce – Central Region.