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- Romulado Aragon Jr.
ROMUALDO A. ARAGON Jr., MD
President
Prime Care Medical Services, INC
Romualdo Aragon Jr., MD, or Jun, to his family and colleagues, is a modern renaissance man with broad intellectual interests and accomplishments in the arts and sciences, as well as in humanitarian services.
Jun was born in San Fernando, La Union, Philippines on July 6, 1957 and was raised by his parents, Rosa and Romualdo, Sr., who take pride in their humble roots from a small rural town located in Northern Luzon. Since childhood, his dream was to become a physician. For high school, however, he was sent to the University of the Philippines (UP) Rural High in Los Banos, Laguna to study agriculture like his two maternal uncles. It was there where Jun discovered his passion for the arts and began his involvement in creative literary writing, specifically poetry and playwriting. Later he would also be involved in the performing arts by acting in and directing stage plays. He continued his involvement with the arts while pursuing Bachelor of Science in Biology at UP Baguio from 1974 to 1978. He graduated at the top of his class and won first place in a nationwide literary writing contest sponsored by the Gawad Sagisag ng Panitikan in 1977. His entry was one-act stage play entitled Monumento, a brilliant political farce written in Filipino. Jun also became a member of the UP Writers Club.
In 1978, Jun entered the UP College of Medicine (UPCM). As a medical student, he was able to juggle his time writing lyrics for his class songs while studying medicine. He wrote Harana Sa Bayang Nahihimbing (first place winner in 1979) and Isang Dakilang Layunin (second place winner in 1980) as entries to the UPCM annual choir competition, Tao Rin Pala. He also wrote the lyrics of Mutyang UP Medisina (the hymn of his Alma Mater) in 1982; Awit ng UPMASA (the hymn of UP Medical Alumni Society in America) in 2006; Mediko ng Bayan (the hymn of UP Medical Alumni Society) in 2008; and most recently the lyrics of UP Alumnay Sa Amerika (the hymn of UP Alumni Association in America) in 2009.
Jun is a well liked primary care physician. Before coming to the United States, he graduated from the University of the Philippines and specialized in Ear, Nose, Throat – Head & Neck Surgery (ENT-HNS) at the Philippine General Hospital. He took up several postgraduate specialty training in Belgium and Germany for 2 years. He trained in Internal Medicine at Mercy Hospital in Buffalo, New York and moved on to work in varied health care settings such as hospital, emergency department, operating room, outpatient clinic, urgent care facility, and even house/hotel locations. His past works and experiences have prepared him to deal with a wide range of medical problems of children and adults, and men and women, of different ethnic backgrounds, and from all walks of life. He was certified by the Philippine Board of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery in 1990, the American Board of Ambulatory Medicine in 1997, and the American Board of Internal Medicine in 1995 and 2005.
In 2000, Jun moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and established his own solo private practice – Prime Care Medical Services*. Last year, he opened FirstMed Urgent Care with two other Filipino medical specialists. He believes that a doctor should “treat everyone like family” and this has made him the consummate family physician. In spite of his busy medical practice, he continues to be involved in community service being an active leader of several non-profit organizations. These include UP Alumni Association of Nevada, Las Vegas Philippine American Lions Club, and two organizations, UP Medical Alumni Society in America – Nevada and Filipino American Heritage Foundation – Nevada, which he himself founded in 2006 and 2008, respectively. Jun is also a founding board member of Colors of Lupus – Nevada (COLN) and a well-loved member of the Ilocano American Association of Nevada and Kalahi- A Philippine Folkloric Ensemble. In 2009, he became an honorary member of The International Artist Group of Nevada (TIAGON), a member of the Committee on Health/Community Relations of the Clark County Medical Society, and the first Filipino physician volunteer of Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada. He was also elected Vice President of the West of UP Alumni Association in America for 2009 to 2010.
Currently, Jun continues to be a key player in the Filipino American community in Southern Nevada, as well as in the mainstream American society. He leads the annual celebration of Filipino American History Month in October. He spearheads free health screenings, flu shots, Consular outreach programs, as well as fundraising events that benefit charitable projects here and in the Philippines. Since October 2008, he holds free medical clinic two
Saturdays a month to uninsured and under-insured residents of Las Vegas regardless of their ethnic background. On September 30, 2009, Jun was elected Chair of Las Vegas – Philippine Emergency Disaster Relief Operations (LV- PEDRO), a committee represented by leaders of many Filipino American organizations and businesses in Southern Nevada to launch fundraising relief efforts to benefit the victims of Tropical Storms Ketsana and Parma in Central and Northern Luzon. Last year, Jun received the following prestigious awards: (1) Distinguished Alumnus Award in Community Service conferred by the UP Alumni Association in America on September 4, 2009; (2) Celebrating Diversity Award of Excellence in Healthcare bestowed by the Las Vegas Hispanic Council and COLN on June 27, 2009; and the (3) Community Spirit Award given by KLASTV-Channel 8 Las Vegas on August 2009. He is the first ever Filipino American recipient of the last two aforementioned awards.
Jun has been married for more than 21 years to Mary Jo Bernardo, a career diplomat and current Consul General of the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles, California. They have a daughter, Kimberly Ann, who goes to school at Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts majoring in Japanese language.
In the midst of his growing medical private practice, his volunteer works with several organizations, and his numerous awards and accomplishments, Dr. Jun Aragon remains simple, humble and steadfast, and continues to inspire other Filipino Americans to do their very best and be proud of their heritage.
Filipino Image Magazine: Twenty Outstanding Filipinos Abroad
PDF 
2009 Outstanding Filipinos Abroad – DENNIS "DANNY" A. MATEO - Maui, Hawaii
International Bamboo Organ Festival
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