Central Surgical Association Meeting 79th Annual Meeting

The Department of Surgery was honored to host the Central Surgical Association’s 79th Annual Meeting at the Saint Kate - The Arts Hotel in downtown Milwaukee.

The Department of Surgery has a strong history of representation within the Central Surgical Association (CSA), with 23 current members and four faculty members who have served as President of the organization. These include Edwin Ellison, MD (1968-1969), Robert Condon, MD (1978-1979), Jonathan Towne, MD (2002-2003), and most recently, Tina Yen, MD, MS (2019-2020). Jon Gould, MD, MBA, currently serves as the society Recorder. Tracy Wang, MD, MPH, served as this year’s Local Arrangements Chair.

In addition to President Timothy Pritts’ Presidential Address, “Grit and Resilience in Surgery,” this year’s program included the CSA Young Surgeons Committee Panel featuring “How I do It” video session, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force Panel on “Workday Scenarios,” as well as a ‘speed mentoring’ session for early- and mid-career faculty, with leaders from the CSA.

This year’s scientific program also included 5 oral and 3 quick-shot presentations by MCW residents and faculty. The local program focused on the innovative research and programs within the Department:

• Terri deRoon-Cassini, PhD, MS - “Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Programming: The Reach of 414LIFE”

• Tammy Kindel, MD, PhD - “Bariatric Surgery in Advanced Heart Failure Patients”

• Ugwuji Maduekwe, MD, MMSc, MPH - “Improving Surgical Care through Philanthropy: The AHW Experience”

From left to right: Dr. Douglas B. Evans, Roger Caplinger, Craig Counsell.

The highlight of the meeting was the ‘fireside chat,’ “The Chicken Runs at Midnight: A Perspective on Life and Baseball from Craig Counsell.” Craig Counsell, manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, won two World Series Championships during his 16-year career as a player in Major League Baseball and was the National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player in 2001. The session was moderated by Roger Caplinger (Vice President of Medical Operations, Health and Safety for the Milwaukee Brewers) and Douglas B. Evans, MD.

Finally, we were thrilled to have Milwaukee-based Nineteen Thirteen, an award-winning duo featuring the cellist Janet Schiff and percussionist Victor DeLorenzo, the founding drummer of Violent Femmes, provide the musical entertainment at this year’s Nonie Lowry Dinner!