Dr. Jeffrey Bailey Will Be COT Vice Chair, RCOT Chair

Following decades of distinguished military service, academic achievement, and longstanding contributions to the ACS, Col. (Ret) Jeffrey A. Bailey, MD, FACS, will take over as Vice Chair of the ACS Committee on Trauma (COT) and Chair of the Regional Committees on Trauma (RCOT). Dr. Bailey assumes these leadership roles in March 2026.

Dr. Bailey is a professor in the Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine and an attending surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, both in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, he holds a faculty position with the Department of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.

A retired US Air Force Colonel, Dr. Bailey’s military career spanned more than 4 decades. He held numerous key operational and administrative assignments, culminating in his service as director of the Joint Trauma System, where he played a central role in advancing combat trauma care, developing trauma system doctrine, and overseeing performance improvement across global military operations. His military record includes deployment experience in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, as well as multiple leadership positions at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and the Defense Health Agency.

Within the ACS, Dr. Bailey has a long and impactful record of service. He previously served as Chief of Region XIII, representing the Military Region within the ACS RCOT, and later as a member of the Central Committee on Trauma. He has contributed to several COT program areas, including the Trauma Verification, Review, and Consultation Program and Trauma System Evaluation and Planning Program, where his expertise in system design and performance improvement has been especially influential.

"Dr. Bailey brings an exceptional breadth of experience and a steadfast dedication to advancing trauma care,” said Kristan L. Staudenmayer, MD, MS, FACS, COT Chair-Elect. “His leadership across military and civilian trauma systems has profoundly shaped our field, and his insight will continue to strengthen the work of the Committee on Trauma. I look forward to partnering with him as we build toward enhanced trauma systems and improve care for injured patients nationwide."