Agendas

Preconference Workshops

Times indicated are Eastern.

Saturday, April 13
7:00 am-6:00 pm	Onsite Registration Potomac Ballroom Registration Desk, Ballroom Level
10:00 am–1:00 pm	Leadership in Action: Making an Impact in the Media and on Social Workshop River Birch Ballroom B, Meeting Room Level
1:00–2:50 pm	Practice Management Workshop Rock Creek Ballroom, Salon B, Ballroom Level Participants may earn 1.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
3:00–4:50 pm	Controlling Risk: The Techniques of Operating Excellence Workshop Speaker: Jim Wetherbee, Captain, US Navy (Ret.), Former Astronaut, NASA Rock Creek Ballroom, Salon B, Ballroom Level Participants may earn 1.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

Leadership Summit

The Leadership Summit will offer compelling speakers addressing key topics in surgical leadership. Attendees will learn new and innovative ways to face challenges and enhance their leadership skills, both in and out of the operating room. The Leadership Summit is open to ACS members and non-members in the United States and internationally, and there are both in-person and virtual options to attend. The Leadership Summit will be live-streamed for virtual registrants, and the sessions will also be recorded for future viewing opportunities for those who are registered. Times indicated are Eastern.

Saturday, April 13
5:00–6:30 pm	Networking Event - Drinks and hors d’oeuvres Anacostia Ballroom, Ballroom Level
Sunday, April 14
7:00 am–6:00 pm	Onsite Registration Potomac Ballroom Registration Desk, Ballroom Level
7:30–8:45 am	Breakfast Rock Creek Ballroom, Ballroom Level
General Session	Potomac Ballroom – Salons 1 & 2, Ballroom Level Participants may earn 5.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
9:00–9:10 am	Welcome and Agenda for the Day Michael Sutherland, MD, MBA, FACS, Director, Division of Member Services, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL
A Surgeon’s Journey: Section 1 – Well-Being
9:10–9:40 am	Moving Forward after Moral Injury: A Leader’s Perspective Sunil K. Geevarghese, MD, MSCI, FACS, Vice Chair for Education, Section of Surgical Sciences, Medical Director, Transplant Perioperative Services, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
9:40–10:10 am	Sustainability in Healthcare: Where We Are and Where We Want to Be Robin Blackstone, MD, FACS, Certified Diplomate in Obesity Medicine, CEO, Blackstone Health, New York, NY
10:10–10:40 am	Quality and Safety at a National Level: A Surgeon’s Journey Haytham Kaafarani, MD, MPH, FACS, Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital, Medical Director of Hospital Quality and Safety, Boston, MA
10:40–11:00 am	BREAK Potomac Ballroom Foyer, Ballroom Level
A Surgeon’s Journey: Section 2 – Engaging in the Surgical Practice Environment
11:00–11:30 am	The Habits of Advocacy John H. Armstrong, MD, FCCP, MAMSE, FACS, Vice Speaker, American Medical Association House of Delegates, Professor of Surgery, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL
11:30 am–12:00 pm	Advocacy in Action: The Pivot Moment Brian H. Williams, MD, FACS, Trauma Surgeon, Former Congressional Health Policy Advisor, Recent Candidate for U.S. Congress, Dallas, TX Sponsored by the ACS Resident and Associate Society (RAS)
12:00–1:00 pm	Lunch Rock Creek Ballroom, Ballroom Level
1:00–1:30 pm	Chapter Success Stories Member Retention & Engagement: ACS Dues Pilot Program Michael Sutherland, MD, MBA, FACS, Director, Division of Member Services, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL Progress Through Advocacy-related Efforts Jorge J. Zequeira, MD, FACS, FAAP, Puerto Rico Chapter Immediate Past President If You Build It, They Will Come Cynthia Talley, MD, FACS, South Carolina Chapter Governor & President
A Surgeon’s Journey: Section 3 – Looking to the Future
1:30–2:30 pm	Surgeons as CEO: Career Paths to the Corner Office Moderator: Timothy J. Babineau, MD, MBA, FACS, Retired President and CEO, Lifespan, Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Principal, Academic Healthcare Division, ECG Management Consultants, Boston, MA Panel: Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, President and CEO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; Robert S. D. Higgins, MD, MSHA, FACS, President and Chief Academic Officer, RUSH University, Chicago, IL; Julie A. Freischlag, MD, FRCSEd(Hon), DFSVS, MAMSE, FACS, CEO, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston Salem, NC; Glenn D. Steele, Jr., MD, PhD, FACS, Former President and CEO, Geisinger Health System, Washington, DC; Bert W. O’Malley, MD, FACS, President and CEO, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
2:30–3:00 pm	Executive Director & CEO’s Update Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, Executive Director & CEO, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL
3:00–3:50 pm	Advocacy and Health Policy Abstract Presentations
3:50–4:00 pm	Closing Comments Michael Sutherland, MD, MBA, FACS, Director, Division of Member Services, American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL

Advocacy Summit

The Advocacy Summit will be an in-person event. There will be no virtual option to view the Advocacy Summit. Congressional meetings will also be in person this year. The Advocacy Summit is only open to ACS members in the United States since the content is not applicable to international members. The Advocacy Summit provides ACS members with an update on the policy priorities the College is advocating for with federal lawmakers. Advocacy training and scheduled congressional visits will be provided as part of the event. Times indicated are Eastern.

Sunday, April 14
6:00–9:00 pm	Advocacy Summit Welcome Reception and Keynote Dinner Reception: 6:00-7:00 Dinner: 7:00-9:00 Speaker: Anna Palmer, Punchbowl News
Monday, April 15
7:00–8:00 am	All Attendee Breakfast
8:00–8:15 am	Advocacy Welcome and Introductions Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS Executive Director & CEO, American College of Surgeons Christian Shalgian Director, Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, American College of Surgeons
8:15–9:15 am	Panel: How to Advance the ACS Agenda in a Divided Congress
9:15–10:15 am	Panel: AI-Healthcare Policy
10:15–10:30 am	Break
10:30–11:30 am	Panel: Surgical Quality in Patient-Centered Care
11:30–11:45	Break (transition to luncheon)
11:45 am–1:00 pm	Luncheon Sponsored by ACSPA - SurgeonsPAC Speaker: Bruce Mehlman, Melhman Consulting
1:15–1:50 pm	Panel: Working with Patient Advocacy Groups
1:50–2:30 pm	Review of Congressional Asks Carrie Zlatos Chief, Legislative and Political Affairs, Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, American College of Surgeons (DAHP, ACS) Amelia Suermann Senior Advisor, Congressional and Political, Engagement, DAHP, ACS Emma Zimmerman Congressional Lobbyist, DAHP, ACS Matthew Brown Congressional Lobbyist, DAHP, ACS
2:30–3:30 pm	Advocacy Training Kevin Schultze, V.P., Congressional Relations, Soapbox Consulting
3:30–5:00 pm	Congressional Speakers Representative John Joyce, MD (R-PA-13) Senator John Boozman (R-AR) Representative Darin LaHood (R-IL-16) Representative Angie Craig (D-MN-02) Subject to Change
7:00–9:00 pm	ACSPA - SurgeonsPAC Reception (2024 PAC contributors invited)
Tuesday, April 16
7:00–8:00 am	Welcome to Lobby Day Breakfast
8:00 am	Buses Depart for Capitol Hill
9:00 am–3:30 pm	Congressional Visits
11:00 am–3:30 pm	Lunch and Congressional Visit Debriefing Room Rayburn House Office Building, Rooms 2043 & 2044 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20024

Note: Only active US/domestic ACS members are eligible to participate in the congressional visits to Capitol Hill.

Agenda and speakers are subject to change. The views expressed by the individual speakers are their own and don't necessarily reflect those of the American College of Surgeons.

2024 Agendas

Saturday, April 13

Saturday, April 13

Sunday, April 14

General Session

Sunday, April 14

Monday, April 15

Tuesday, April 16