Chapter news

Domestic and international chapters of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) met in the last several months to host a variety of activities, including annual meetings, skills competitions, advocacy days, and more. Following are highlights and photos from these programs.

Domestic chapters

Brooklyn-Long Island Chapter (BLIACS)

Annual Young Surgeons Dinner, June 4, Garden City, NY. Phillip R. Caropreso, MD, FACS, Second Vice-President of the ACS, delivered the keynote address about the importance of the ACS. Photo: Jeffrey P. Weiss, MD, FACS (left), then-Chapter President, and Dr. Caropreso.

Connecticut Chapter (CTACS)

Connecticut Chapter Lobby Day, March 1, Hartford. Legislative issues highlighted included expanding coverage to bariatric surgery to all insured patients in Connecticut, increasing the state hospital tax, supporting a helmet law, and opposing a law that prohibits hospitals from charging activation fees.

Photo, from left, front row: Philip Corvo, MD, MA, FACS, Governor at-Large and Past-President; Shea Gregg, MD, FACS; Kathleen LaVorgna, MD, FACS, Past-President and Co-Chair, Legislative Committee, and Governor at-Large; and Chris Johnson, State Affairs Associate, ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy. Back row: Alan Meinke, MD, FACS, Chapter President, and Scott Kurtzman, MD, FACS, Past Governor at-Large and Past-President.

Illinois Chapter

First Annual Illinois Surgical Conference, April 26–28, Chicago, hosted by the Illinois Chapter and Chicago Metropolitan Chapter of the ACS, the Illinois Surgical Society, the Chicago Surgical Society, and the Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative.

Photo: Founders Competition winners, from left: Lindsey Zhang, MD, University of Chicago, third place; Timothy Daugherty, MD, MS, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, second place; Ryan A. J. Campagna, MD, Northwestern University¸ first place; and presenter Daniel M. Chase, MD, FACS, Illinois Chapter President.

Louisiana Chapter

Lobby Day, May 22, Baton Rouge. Chapter members spoke with Lieutenant Gov. Billy Nungesser about his support for a bill to study the expansion of insurance access for bariatric surgery, and met with Speaker of the House Taylor Barras about supporting legislation to require Stop the Bleed^® training and bleeding control kits in public schools. The chapter also partnered with the Louisiana Emergency Response Network to provide Stop the Bleed demonstrations in the capitol rotunda.

Photo, from left (all MD, FACS): Rebecca Schroll, Chapter Advocacy Chair; Juan Duchesne, Chapter President; Peter Lundberg; Tomas Jacome, State Committee on Trauma (COT) Chair; and Sharven Taghavi

Massachusetts Chapter (MCACS)

Stop the Bleed training, March 26, Boston. During the event check-in at Boston’s Run to Remember, which pays tribute to fallen law enforcement officers and first responders, the chapter sponsored a Stop the Bleed booth and demonstrations to raise awareness and provide resources to the participants and the general public about bleeding control. Educational outreach was spearheaded by George DeBusk, MD, FACS, Chapter Councilor (pictured), and Kathryn Hughes, MD, FACS, a member of the Chapter’s Advocacy Committee.

Michigan Chapter (MCACS)

66th Annual Michigan Chapter Meeting, May 8–10, Grand Rapids. Meeting highlights included the Top Gun Surgical Skills Competition; the Resident Jeopardy Competition; the “Mo” Henig Lecture, An Odyssey in Trauma—1978–2019, by David. V. Feliciano, MD, FACS; and the Krishna K. & Pamela E. Sawhney Ethics in Surgery Lecture, The Surgeon’s Role in Firearm Injury Prevention—an Ethical Dilemma, by Nicole A. Stassen, MD, FACS, FCCM.

Photo: The Top Gun Surgical Skills Competition in action

New York Chapter (NY-ACS) and Brooklyn-Long Island Chapter (BLIACS)

Advocacy Day, April 30, Albany. With the support of Albany Medical Center, the chapters hosted a Stop the Bleed training session. As a result of the chapters’ advocacy efforts, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate proclaimed May as Stop the Bleed Month in New York. Photo: Assemblyman Colin Schmitt (standing, front), sponsor of the Stop the Bleed proclamation, with members of the chapters.

Oregon Chapter (ORACS)

Day at the Capitol, March 4, Salem. Chapter council members on the steps of the Rotunda between the House and Senate Chambers at the Oregon Capitol.

Photo, from left: Glen Levine, MD, FACS; Kristen Massimino, MD, FACS; Sandeep Kumar, MD, FACS; Mark Dodge, EMR, Marion County Medical Reserve Corps; Harvey Gail, MBA, Chapter Administrator; Christian Johnson, State Affairs Associate, ACS Division of Advocacy and Health Policy; Robert Goldman, MD, FACS; James Nealon, MD, PC, FACS; and Monte Stewart, MD, FACS

Utah Chapter

Annual Meeting, May 10, Salt Lake City.

Photo: Winners of the Utah ACS Resident and Trainee Poster Competition included, from left: Liese Pruitt, MD, general surgery resident, University of Utah, Salt Lake City; Travis Bailey, MS, medical student, University of Utah School of Medicine; and Mark Taylor, MD, general surgery resident, University of Utah

West Virginia Chapter

Annual Meeting, May 9–11, White Sulphur Springs. The chapter has been actively promoting medical student attendance and participation at its annual meeting, including a medical student simulation session to instruct students on basic suturing and knot-tying techniques, and exposure to advanced surgical simulation. A total of 40 medical students from the five medical campuses throughout the state participated in a three-hour simulation consisting of central line, laparoscopic robotic, open vascular, and endovascular simulation stations.

Photo: Megan Davis (left), a vascular resident at West Virginia University, Charleston, mentors Julie Poe, medical student, Marshall University, Huntington, at the open vascular simulation station sponsored by industry representatives from Getinge.

International chapters

Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Chapter

ANZ Chapter Annual Meeting, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons Annual Scientific Congress, May 8, Bangkok, Thailand. Ronald V. Maier, MD, FACS, FRCSEd(Hon), FCSHK(Hon), FCCS(Hon), ACS President, updated the chapter on the College’s focus and activities.

Photo, from left: Nick Parrish, MD, ACS Resident International Exchange recipient; Jayme Locke, MD, FACS, ANZ Traveling Fellow; Dr. Maier; and Julian Smith, MB, MS, FACS, Chapter President and Governor

Brazil Chapter

33rd Brazilian Congress of Surgery of the Brazilian College of Surgeons, May 1–4, Brasília. The Congress focused on the care of the surgical patient and quality in surgery.

Photo (all MD, FACS): David B. Hoyt, ACS Executive Director (middle) between Savino Gasparini, ACS Governor, and Bruno Ottani, Chair, Organizing Committee, 33rd Brazilian Congress of Surgery of the Brazilian College of Surgeons

Chile Chapter

Annual Congress of the Chile Chapter, June 2–5, Viña del Mar.

Photo, from left, standing (all MD, FACS): Augusto León, Director; Carlos Polanco, Chapter Secretary; Francisco Ruiz, Chair, Chile COT; Helmuth Schweizer, Chapter Treasurer; Raúl Berríos, Director; Miguel González, Scientific Coordinator. From left, seated (all MD, FACS): Víctor Bianchi, Second Vice-President; Hugo Núñez, Chapter Past-President; Felipe Catan, Chapter President; Juan Hepp, Governor; and Ricardo Espinoza, Chapter President-Elect

India Chapter

Basic Surgical Skills Workshop, March 1, New Delhi. The hands-on workshop included basic skills of suturing, knotting, mass closure of abdomen, bowel anastomosis, and vascular and tendon repair on animal tissues, conducted under the convenorship of Prof. Chintamani, MB, BS, FACS, ACS Governor.

Japan Chapter

Annual Meeting, April 19, Osaka. Dr. Maier attended the event and presented a lecture, Quality Improvement for Trauma: ACS COT Trauma Quality Improvement Program.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) Chapter

The UAE Chapter conducted ACS Fellowship applicant interviews in Abu Dhabi in May.

Photo: Safwan Taha, MD, FACS (left), ACS Governor, and Mohammad Azfar, MB, BS, FACS, Chapter President.