“I had plenty of opportunities to start my career in the states with conditions that would allow a better schedule and pay. But nothing could compare to the personal reward of returning back to the Marianas and serving its people,” said 30-year-old Cabrera who has worked very hard “to get to where I am today.”
In due time, he said. “I have every intention of finally making my way back to Saipan and directly serving its people.”
Born and raised on island, Cabrera is the child of former Public Safety Director Felix B. Cabrera and Agnes T. Cabrera of Chalan Piao.
His sisters are Debra T. Cabrera who has a PhD in sociology from the University of Kentucky; former interim Northern Marianas College President Lorraine T. Cabrera who has a master’s in education; Eleanor T. Cabrera who has a master’s in social work; and Arlene Dela Cruz who is currently attending Arizona State University.
Dr. Felix Cabrera was only 12 when his father died of a heart attack at the age of 45.
“He was way too young and so was I. I love and miss him so much and he is my most identifiable spark on this journey of mine,” he said.
“Embracing the sense of duty and honor to one’s community that my father instilled in me, I’ve been devoted to doing what I can to minimize preventable diseases and ensuring that I help others live their lives to the fullest,” he said adding that he believes he can better accomplish all this as a physician.
After attending Marianas High School, Cabrera moved to the states to finish his secondary education.
While his sister Debra was attending the University of Kentucky, he finished high school in Lexington, Kentucky. Then he went to the University of Washington for his undergraduate degree.
He then took two years off to obtain more experience while working at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance before he applied at a medical school and was very fortunate to be accepted into the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, a premier medical school in the U.S.
Dr. Cabrera’s good fortunes continued because after graduating from medical school, he was accepted into an internal medicine residency program at the Yale School of Medicine.
After completing the program last June, Dr. Cabrera moved to Guam.
“The decision to start [on Guam] as opposed to Saipan is multi-factorial. Partly it is personal as I have a lot of family and friends on Guam (my wife, Suzanne Lobaton Cabrera is from Guam and my mother and one of my sisters currently live here),” he said.
But mostly, he added, “it is because I felt that the medical climate there is most conducive to making a smoother transition from the mainland to the Marianas and to providing the best opportunity to be in a health care system that allows me to continue developing my internal medicine skills.”
In due time, Dr. Cabrera said, “I have every intention of finally making my way back to Saipan and directly serving its people.”
He said he also feels that he will be most effective in the private sector and concentrating on preventative medicine in a primary care setting.
“I hope to eventually open my own practice or join an existing group,” he said.
For now, he said he is focused on his duties as a hospitalist for the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority and caring for the marginalized population, whether uninsured, underinsured, or not having an established primary doctor.
“This is my full time job. In addition to that, I work part time at Pacific Medical Center Isla Health System as my outpatient clinic in order to build and care for my own patient panel. Yes I am already a very busy doctor, but it is all worth it as I am finally living my dream caring for and providing compassionate, evidence-based medicine to the people of the Marianas,” Dr. Cabrera said.
He also worked as a clinical laboratory technologist at the Cellular Therapy Laboratory of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance from 2002 to 2005 and at the Clinical Hematology Laboratory, Harborveiw Medical Center in 2001. He was also a chemistry, biology and microbiology tutor for the University of Washington Office of Minority Affairs-Instructional Center.
