Thanks and Congratulations
Greetings to you all, the members of the Society for Pediatric Anesthesia. I’m looking forward to seeing you in New Orleans early next month for a FUN Annual SPA meeting.
We are so excited to present SPA’s first Yaster Lifetime Achievement Award to Myron Yaster, founder of the Society. Congratulations, Myron, for this well-deserved honor, and our thanks to you for your never-ending dedication and support for our specialty.
This is my last newsletter message to you as your President. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve this organization for the last two years. With the Board’s leadership, and the participation and support of so many, much has been accomplished.
The list below, undoubtedly incomplete, represents YOUR efforts to improve care for children, here and around the world; I am in awe of your commitment and dedication to our specialty, and I look forward to continuing our work together.
- Administration of the first ever ABA Pediatric Anesthesia Board Exam last October 2013, after years of effort and support by Frank McGowan and countless others, a huge step for recognition of our specialty!
- Revision and acceptance of updated By-laws, with the assistance of Rosalie Tassone, Lynne Maxwell, and Ira J Cohen
- Revision and updating of our Strategic Plan for the organization
- An enlarged Board of Directors
- Appointment of new Committee leadership, for Communications (Sean Flack), Research (Toyin Olutoye), and SPACIES (Faye Evans)
- Creation of the Society for Pediatric Pain Management, under the umbrella of the SPA
- Continued growth of our Winter Meeting to over 800 registrants, at a time when many medical meetings are struggling to attract attendees. Updated lecture topics, electronic posters, a special session for Young Turks, and expanded PBLDs all contribute to this meeting’s “buzz.”
- Presentation of the Intensive Review of Pediatric Anesthesia, a new review course, so popular that a second site had to be created, and faculty had to give each lecture twice!
- Publication of the Critical Events Checklist, created by the Quality and Safety Committee under the leadership of Genie Heitmiller, FREE to anyone on our website
- Publication of the Critical Events Checklist in Spanish, professionally translated, with considerable assistance from Carlos Campos, also FREE on the website
- Creation of the FREE Pedi Crisis i-phone application, created and supported by members of the Bioinformatics group, including Mohamed Rehman and Justin Lockman from CHOP
- Initiation of a process for distributing seed grant money from the Research-Safety-Education Fund
- Continued growth of WakeUpSafe and PRAN, with additional institutions and many, many more cases included in both databases.
- Continued growth of the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society, as well as its outcome database
- Sponsorship of our first-ever, SPA Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia, at the University of Nairobi, Dr. Susane Nabulindo.
Our meetings have grown substantially through the years, but the sense of belonging and fellowship remain intact. Please make an effort to join us in New Orleans, as we gather to learn new material, share common experiences, and honor our Founding Dude, Myron Yaster.
Thank you, again, for the support you have given me as your President, as well as your support for the other officers and Board members working on your behalf. I will be delighted to turn over the Presidency to my friend and colleague, Shobha Malviya, who has already demonstrated selfless leadership in her years on the Board. Your Society will be in GREAT hands. We invite you to get involved!
