2021 Annual Meeting

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Building on the College’s launch of its Diversity pillar we have themed the meeting around Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Under the leadership of Dr. Roselle Crombie, the committee has recruited some excellent speakers:

LJ Punch, MD, FACS: Access Denied: Addressing Structural Barriers to Care and Recovery After Bullet Related Injury

Dr. LJ punch, trauma surgeon, founder of The T in St. Louis, a non-profit dedicated to bringing harm reduction, health education, wellbeing resources and love to the region, one person at a time.

Dr. LJ punch, founder of The T in St. Louis, a non-profit dedicated to bringing harm reduction, health education, wellbeing resources and love to the region, one person at a time. Dr. Punch loves to heal. Educated in medicine at the University of Connecticut and trained in surgery at the University of Maryland and R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, this desire to heal has brought to life a career with a three-fold focus: education, violence and equity.

As a trauma surgeon at this work came to life in various undergraduate and graduate medical education courses focused on the experience of violence related injury across the entire spectrum of illness and healing. Through community engagement in St. Louis, Dr. Punch carries this mission forward each day, bridging the gap between the resources inside healthcare and the voices of the people. This includes a campaign to bring the national “Stop the Bleed” campaign to members of the St. Louis community at risk for violence and serious injury. This also includes the creation of “The T”, an anti-violence community center which focuses on harm reduction as primary prevention of urban public health concerns including bullet injuries, substance use and COVID-19. Looking to advance the knowledge and bravery of learners of all levels in the management of violence and injury, both in and out of the operating room and hospital, Dr. Punch has worked diligently to serve medical professionals, patients, families, and communities in their shared journey toward healing.

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Scott Shikora, MD, FACS: Addressing Disparities in Bariatric Care

Dr. Shikora is the Director of the Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Shikora received his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He completed both his residency in surgery and his fellowship in hyperalimentation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Shikora has been named one of Boston’s best doctors by Boston Magazine.

Dr Shikora is both a past president and a former Executive Council member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He is an associate editor of the surgical journal Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and the current editor-in-chief of Obesity Surgery. Dr. Shikora has authored numerous book chapters and journal publications and has made hundreds of presentations internationally on bariatric surgery topics.

Dr. Shikora has clinical and research interests in minimally invasive bariatric and general surgery, neuromodulation, and new surgical technologies.

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Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FACS: Ethnicity Related Variation in Breast Cancer Risk and Outcomes

Dr. Lisa Newman is a surgical oncologist and with a clinical and research practice dedicated to breast cancer management. In August 2018 she was appointed Chief of the Section of Breast Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medicine. In addition, at the NewYork-Presbyterian David H. Koch Center. Dr. Newman also serves as Second Vice-President of the American College of Surgeons.

In this role, Dr. Newman leads a team of breast surgeons that uses state-of-the-art screening and imaging technologies, innovative surgical and reconstruction techniques, and radiation therapies to provide patients with comprehensive breast cancer care. As Chief of the Breast Surgical Oncology Program, she also extends this multidisciplinary approach—to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Queens.

Previously, she worked at the Henry Ford Health System, where she served as director of the breast program covering multiple hospitals throughout Michigan. She is also the Founding Medical Director for the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes, which became headquartered at Weill Cornell Medicine with Dr. Newman’s recruitment. Dr. Newman was Professor of Surgery and Director of the Breast Care Center for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she also served as Program Director for the Breast Fellowship from 2002 to 2015. Dr. Newman holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from Harvard University, and she also obtained her undergraduate education at Harvard University with a major in chemistry. She attended medical school and completed her general surgery residency training at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. Dr. Newman was recruited to remain at Downstate following completion of her postgraduate training, and served as an Assistant Professor of Surgery with this program for several years. She pursued fellowship training in surgical oncology at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center 1997-99, followed by joining the faculty as an Assistant Professor; she continues to hold an Adjunct Professorship with M.D. Anderson. After leaving the University of Michigan she was appointed Adjunct Professor in the UM Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also served previously as Associate Director for the Walt Breast Center at Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute for two years.

Dr. Newman’s primary research has focused on ethnicity-related variation in breast cancer risk and outcome, the evaluation and management of high-risk patients; broadened applications for neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and special surgical techniques such as the skin-sparing mastectomy and lymphatic mapping/sentinel lymph node biopsy. Her extensive research related to disparities in breast cancer risk and outcome has been published in numerous peer-reviewed medical journals and was featured in CNN’s documentary “Black in America 2”.

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Deb Pappas, Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Connecticut Children’s, Building Your Personal Brand

Deb Pappas is Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for Connecticut Children’s, leading marketing, communications and brand strategy. Deb has spent the last 12 years in healthcare, previously serving as Senior Director of Marketing and National Physician Relations for Boston Children’s Hospital, and Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for UMass Memorial Health. Prior to healthcare, Deb spent more than 20 years in marketing leadership roles for a variety of global technology, financial services and retail brands. Deb holds an MBA in Marketing from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business, Babson College, and a BA degree in Psychology from Colby College.

 

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Charles R. Herrick, MD, Nuvance Health, Cultural Competence, Morality, and the Concept of Stigma

Dr. Herrick first joined Danbury Hospital in June, 1998, having moved from Manhattan where he worked at Jacobi Medical Center. Dr. Herrick became the Chair of Psychiatry at Danbury Hospital in October, 2006, and chair of psychiatry for Western Connecticut Health Network in April, 2018. He is now the Network Chair of Psychiatry for Nuvance Health Network since August, 2019. He has worked in and overseen various programs at Danbury Hospital, including Consultation Services, Crisis Intervention Services, Inpatient Services, and Chemical Dependency Services. He has also served on numerous committees both for the hospital and medical group, including the Quality Committee, Finance Committee, Compensation Committee, and Ethics Committee.

Dr. Herrick graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, completed his residency training in general psychiatry at Tufts, New England Medical Center Hospitals, and in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Herrick’s clinical experience has been diverse in terms of patient population, practice setting, and geographic location. He has worked in Boston, San Francisco and New York City before coming to Danbury. He has coauthored books on depression, bipolar disorder, alcoholism and smoking cessation for patients and their family members, and has lectured on a variety of psychiatric and ethics topics to both medical audiences and the general public.

Dr. Herrick is a member of the faculty at University of Vermont Medical College, Ross University School of Medicine, American University of the Caribbean, and University of Medicine and Health Sciences, where he serves as clinical chair. Dr. Herrick recently assisted with the development of the Nuvance Health Psychiatry Residency Training Program, which began July, ’20. Dr. Herrick serves on various boards, including Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut, and the Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation, which provides oversight of funding for the victims of Sandy Hook. Dr. Herrick co-chairs the subcommittee on Mental Health for the Connecticut Hospital Association, and also sits on the Behavior Health Partnership Oversight Committee, which oversees the Medicaid services for behavioral healthcare in the State of Connecticut.

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Christopher Johnson, Manager, State Legislative Affairs, American College of Surgeons

Mr. Johnson will provide the Chapter with an update on State legislative trends in Connecticut and across the country at the business meeting. He will also give a primer on becoming politically active at the state level. He will also address our Residents and Medical Students on the importance of being an advocate for our profession and our patients.

He was graduated from Illinois State University with a B.S. in Political Science and DePaul University with a Master of Public Policy (MPP), Leadership and Policy Studies. He brings a diverse background in public policy, lobbying, and communications to the College.

Mr. Johnson has been an key part of the Chapter’s legislative team over the past several years assisting us in developing strategies for our work on the Definition of Surgery, expansion of access to bariatric care, and a variety of other issues that the Chapter has actively advocated for or against on your behalf.

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• Resident Paper Competition
• 2021 Distinguished Service Award presented in honor of our Soldier Surgeons, recognizing all members who have served their country in all branches of our military
• Resident and Medical Student Lecture: Learning How to Advocate in your Backyard – Christopher Johnson, Manager, ACS State Affairs and Special Guest Lecture on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Surgical Skills Competition
• Chapter Business Meeting

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In accordance with CDC Guidelines and Chapter policy, those who are not fully vaccinated are required to wear a face covering while at the Annual Meeting. Fully vaccinated individuals are encouraged to wear face coverings.