Saipan businesswoman in America’s ‘Who’s Who’

By Aldwin R. Fajardo
AWI News Service

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AWI News)—Hers is a story marked by hard work, talent, the strong will to thrive, and a potent belief in the value of education.

Throughout the years since childhood, Sedy Demesa never failed to put a compelling emphasis on the value of education as a significant aspect of success. She was right. Demesa is now a living evidence that a young Manila girl could grow into an influential Saipan and California-based woman who commands power and authority in America’s healthcare sector.

Proof of this is her recent inclusion in the fifth edition of America’s Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, a book published annually for over 100 years about exceptional people in the United States and around the world.

Who’s Who in America, founded in 1899 by Albert Nelson Marquis, is the authority in accurate biographies of notable Americans. It has now grown to include the biographies of millions of leaders and achievers from around the world, and from every significant field of endeavor.

Demesa’s inclusion to the 2004-2005 America’s Who’s Who stems from her significant contributions to the growth of the healthcare sector in the United States. She plays an important role as the executive vice president for over a decade now of Pleasant Care Corp., which manages about 50 convalescent hospitals and nursing homes throughout California.

Since 1990, she has been personally managing various nursing homes under the PCC umbrella at the interim, until a new, permanent administrator is appointed. She is now the acting administrator of the Pleasant Care-Santa Cruz facility, which is home to over a hundred residents and more than 80 employees.

Demesa is president of the Willis Management Group Inc., which holds business in the construction, education, manpower, and nursing home sectors. The company is incorporated and registered in California, the Philippines and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Also, Demesa was invited by the U.S. Department of the Interior to talk about business opportunities in the fields of specialty tourism and healthcare during the Office of Insular Affairs-sponsored investment conference in Los Angeles on Sept. 23-24, 2004, which was attended by government officials and business leaders from around the American territories of Guam, the U.S, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as the freely associated states of Palau, Marshall Islands and Micronesia.

The businesswoman, during the investment conference, noted the bright potential held by the Northern Marianas into becoming the education and healthcare hub in the region—the islands being the American gateway in the Western Pacific Rim. She mentioned the strong promise of the Commonwealth to become the Pacific hub of four key areas of healthcare-related businesses—hemodialysis centers, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and nursing education.

Federal economist Wali Osman said as much, when he stressed that education is one of the most important areas for future economic growth in the islands of the Marianas. “With the American-style and quality of education implemented in Guam and the CNMI, the islands can become the education center in the region.”

Demesa’s years of experience in the nursing home industry is backed by a master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Santo Tomas, a master’s degree in Psychology and a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology also from the University of Santo Tomas, and an associate degree in Nursing Home Administration from the McClennan Community College in Texas.

Demesa was named one of the Most Outstanding Filipinos in the USA in early 2004 with no less than the Philippine Ambassador presenting her the award. She was also bestowed the Most Outstanding Jaycee Member achievement award for her involvement in the “Project International Collage,” which was sponsored by the Embassies and Consular Offices of Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Demesa is also an accomplished author whose published materials include Guidelines for the Successful Operation of Skilled Nursing Facilities, Guidelines in Implementing New Survey Process, The Resource Utilization Groups and the New Reimbursement Program for Skilled Nursing Facilities: Maximizing the Benefits, Manpower Planning in the Philippines: The Civil Service Commission as the Personnel Arm of the Government, and A Global Affair: The History of the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.