That’s a Wrap! Highlights from ASA 2017

We would like to thank all members of our department who helped make this year's American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) meeting in Boston a huge success! Duke Anesthesiology made a big impression at this year's event with 51 faculty and trainees participating in the conference, including 84 lectures, workshops, panel discussions, presentations, and more. Please join us in congratulating our team of authors who received the 2017 Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Resident Quality Improvement Recognition Award at the ASA for their video, titled "A Bedside Tool to Improve Safety and Efficiency of Cardiothoracic ICU Patient Transport: The Duke ICU Transition to OR (DITTO) Checklist." Authors include: Suraj Yalamuri, MD, and Michael Plakke, MD (team leaders); John Haney, MD, AB, MPH; Brad Taicher, DO, MBA; Madhav Swaminathan, MD, FASE, FAHA; Cory Maxwell, MD (mentors); Hassan Amhaz, MD; Vinca Chow, MD; Heather Pena; Joseph Deblasio; Mollie Kettle; Jhaymie Cappiello; Jessica Lumbard; Rachel Gambino; Courtney Thurman.

During the conference, we hosted Duke Anesthesiology's 29th Annual ASA Alumni Event at The Roof at Taj Boston. Nearly 200 guests (including departmental faculty, trainees, staff, alumni, donors and friends) joined us atop the 17th floor of Boston's most iconic hotel, surrounded by panoramic views of the city's Back Bay and skyline for a night of live jazz music, culinary cuisine and celebration. Guests enhanced their evening by bidding on 13 silent auction items (graciously donated by the department, faculty and staff) to benefit our Global Health Program. This year's winning bidders raised nearly $2,500 which will help fund our residents' travel expenses for their global health missions.

Two of the most anticipated highlights of the evening were: 1) the announcement of the Mark F. Newman Professorship in which we shared this inspirational video. Donors who generously endow this new professorship are not only ensuring the progress of medicine, research and academic excellence, they are giving a gift for future generations to come. Please consider donating to preserve Dr. Newman's legacy. 2) the reveal of the 2018 DREAM Innovation Grant (DIG) recipients.

DIGs are part of the Duke DREAM Campaign which was launched in 2007. These grants support innovative high-risk and potentially high-reward investigations to accelerate anesthesia and pain management research. Each DIG recipient can receive up to $30,000 in seed money for their pilot study which ultimately helps them apply for and obtain extramural funding. To date, $662,900 has been funded by DIGs which has led to nearly $8 million in extramural funding. We would like to express our appreciation to the DIG Application Review Committee and the donors who continue to support our research programs and initiatives, ultimately helping us transform the future of patient care.

It was also another successful fundraiser at the 8th Annual ASA Sponsored Run For The Warriors 5k race, dedicated to the men and women wounded during service, their families and families of the fallen. We're proud to announce that for the seventh year in a row, the Duke Anesthesiology team won first place for fundraising - a total of $11,895! All proceeds from the race benefit wounded warriors and their families through the many Hope For The Warriors® programs. Thank you to the 42 race participants and donors who raised money for this nonprofit veteran service organization. A special congratulations goes to Dr. Atilio Barbeito (faculty), his son, Jose, and Dr. Stephanie Jones (fellow) who medaled for having one of the top three race times in their division (gender/age group). Dr. Barbeito placed 2nd in his division and 7th overall. Jose placed 2nd in his division and 5th overall. Dr. Jones placed 3rd in her division.

Click here for a photo tour of our 2017 ASA events

We sincerely appreciate your continued support of Duke Anesthesiology and your commitment to our mission of providing extraordinary care through a unique culture of innovation, education, research and professional growth. We are particularly grateful to those who worked in the operating rooms during the ASA so that others on our team could attend. Here's to a successful 2018 and we look forward to celebrating at our ASA alumni event next October in San Francisco!

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