Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

VERY few people ever receive a phone call from the President of the United States. So, when the office of Filipino American infectious disease specialist, Dr. Marianito "Mark" O. Asperilla, got a call from the White House, his staff thought it was a prank – and hung up. The White House kept calling though and after the third call, the staff realized it was no joke and Dr. Asperilla quickly came to the phone. It was indeed President George W. Bush calling to commend Dr. Asperilla for his efforts to combat bioterrorism.

After 9/11, Dr. Asperilla recognized the need for a concerted, unified response team to deal with the threat of bioterrorism. Involving health care professionals from various disciplines and area law enforcement and emergency management agencies, he created a multi-county bioterror response group, for which he received a special citation from the Florida Secretary of Health. This elicited the White House call to his office as well as the Presidential Service Volunteer Award, followed by a personal visit from President George W. Bush in 2003. The former president also presented the doctor with one of two national Points of Light Awards he would receive for service to American society.

The honor of being commended by the President is something that not many natural-born American citizens can claim. But, Dr. Mark Asperilla is certainly deserving of the honor. He has called a " Hurricane Hero" by Florida Governor Jeb Bush (for his great help during the hurricane) and has been labeled "The Hometown Hero" by one newspaper in Florida, recognized by another as one of the 100 most influential people in the community, and honored by the Charlotte County government by declaring April 12, 2005, as official "Dr. Mark O. Asperilla Day." In 2007, the doctor was honored by being named Grand Marshal of the Punta Gorda Christmas Parade. In 2008, he was included in the "Top 50 Power Players of Southwest Florida" by Gulfshore Business Magazine.

Dr. Asperilla was born in the Philippines, and attended medical school at the University of Santo Tomas in his home city of Manila. He completed his internship at Makati Medical Center in Manila before moving to the United States in the 1970s to complete residencies in internal medicine at Frankford Hospital, affiliated with the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and Atlantic City Medical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., where he was named associate chief resident.

Asperilla received his fellowship in infectious disease at Chicago Medical School and Albany Medical College of Union University in Albany, New York. At Albany, he received an appointment as instructor in medicine from 1988-1990, and performed bench and clinical research. As a board-certified physician, he has served as Chief of Medicine at Bon Secours-St. Joseph Hospital, on the Executive Boards of three hospitals. He has also been Chairman of the Pharmacy & Therapeutics Committee at Fawcett Memorial Hospital and the Infection Control Committee at Peace River Medical Center. Dr. Asperilla sits on the Board of Directors of the Charlotte County Medical Society, as well as its past President and Scientific Program Director; and was a delegate to the Florida Medical Association, where he was recently named to the Political Action Committee’s Board of Directors.

He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, Fla., and is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the International College of Physicians. He has made presentations at national and international medical organization meetings, and published articles in a number of journals, and added his expertise to abstracts, editorials and textbooks.

In 2007, this outstanding Pinoy was added to the Doctor’s Digest’s advisory editorial board. He is listed in the Marquis 2007-08 editions of Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in America in Medicine and Health Care, as well as in Strathmore’s Who’s Who. The doctor has also been named a lifetime member of the American Registry of Outstanding Professionals.

Perhaps what adds to Dr. Asperilla’s greatness is his generous spirit. Whenever he sees a need in the community, he automatically responds. This has led to his founding numerous patient support organizations. Upon learning that Charlotte County had the highest rate of disability in the state, Dr. Asperilla founded Southwest Florida Disabilities – an organization providing social activities, wheelchairs and computers for more than 300 disabled persons and their families – in 1993, to which he has donated more than 2,500 volunteer hours.

A year later, he started the Charlotte County HIV Charity Clinic, which has provided more than $2 million in free medical services to those suffering from HIV/AIDS. When that clinic was destroyed by Hurricane Charley in 2004, the doctor opened a trailer to serve these patients. Dr. Asperilla founded St. Vincent de Paul Pharmacy, the only freestanding charitable pharmacy in the state of Florida, thus far dispensing more than $4 million in free medications to the poor. He also serves as medical director, and has rallied the support of 120 volunteers and 6 volunteer pharmacists to staff the facility. In addition, he was responsible for the pharmacy’s expansion, opening four additional satellite branches in neighboring communities.