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*** APRIL DINNER CANCELLED ***

Message from the President

Dear Colleagues,
 
Welcome to the Seattle Surgical Society for 2020!

Congratulations is in order to Hugh Foy, our past President, and Kate Mandell (program director) for putting on a fabulous Annual meeting at the Arctic Club on February 7th.  I am sorry for the members who missed the meeting as the venue was spectacular, the resident/fellow talks were superb and the panel discussions on Health Care Reform and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the surgical work force were outstanding and informative. A big thank you to all presenters who gave fabulous concise talks. The winners were: First place: Shanley Deal of Virginia Mason; 2nd place: Alex Lois of UW  and 3rd place:  Ryan Clark of Virginia Mason and Jay Zhu of UW.

The jeopardy competition was once again hosted by the charismatic Dr. Sam Mandell. The grand prize of Pacific Northwest Micro Beers was claimed by Virginia Mason’s residents.  The after dinner talk, “Seattle Past to Present” was an entertaining presentation by Seattle Historian, Knute Berger, whose father was a surgical pioneer in Seattle and member of the Arctic Club! 

In the spirit of having another great meeting in 2021, the Board of Directors has decided to host the meeting again at the Arctic Club.

As all of you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic is going to radically change each and every one of our personal and professional lives this Spring and Summer. The necessity to physically distance ourselves will prevent us from having a meeting in the near future. Hence, the cancellation of the April meeting and unlikelihood of even a May meeting.  A number of outstanding speakers for both the scientific and after dinner talks have been identified but we are not able to confirm their participation at this time given the crisis at hand.

We will certainly keep the membership up to date with our plans for the quarterly meetings via email announcements. The Board will be meeting emergently via teleconference to discuss options for hosting the quarterly meetings at different times. For now, please keep the fall meeting dates of Sept 28 and October 26 on your calendars. It would be great if a meeting could be held during the summer months IF we are in the clear from COVID-19.

In the interim, the board will be meeting regularly to address a number of issues that concerns The Seattle Surgical Society’s future. I have listed a few of our objectives below:
  1.  We need to preserve and grow the membership as this is the life blood and financial engine that allows us to run the society. The association desperately needs all members to pay their current and outstanding dues in a timely manner. Please identify and encourage surgeons to join the society and emphasize the value of attending its meetings. 
  2. The Board needs to update the bylaws of the association. A number of amendments will be made and presented to the membership to review and then vote. One such amendment will be to expand the membership categories to include one for allied health professionals. This will increase our association’s diversity and inclusivity to the surgical workforce in the Greater Seattle Area.
  3. We will be enriching our website to include a lot more information (both past, present and future) as a means to communicate to the membership along with social media platforms. Please communicate to the entire board using this online resource or email me directly.
  4. We are planning next year's meeting far in advance under Dr. Flavio Rocha’s guidance. While we already have some topics in mind, we will soon send a survey to the membership to solicit your thoughts/ideas on symposia that may be of interest to everyone.

While an early Spring is upon us with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, so is COVID-19. This will be a unique and challenging year to say the least for everyone on the planet and particularly for us on the front lines of healthcare in Seattle over the next month.  God speed to everyone.  Be safe, be smart, and protect the vulnerable and your families.

W. Scott Helton, President
DISCLAIMER: The Seattle Surgical Society is a 501(c)(6) non-profit and non-political educational organization. This is a private website designed specifically for the benefit of its membership. We do not offer advice regarding medical symptoms or treatments. Please consult your doctor about any health-related problems or concerns.