The Board of Directors of the ACS Professional Association (ACSPA) and the ACS Board of Regents (BoR) met October 18 at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square in California.
The following is a summary of key activities discussed and was current as of the date of the meeting.
ACSPA
The ACSPA, a 501(c)(6), allows for a broader range of activities and services that benefits surgeons and patients, including expanded legislative advocacy and political programming, such as the ACSPA-Political Action Committee (SurgeonsPAC).
ACS
The BoR accepted resignations from 19 Fellows and changed the status from Active or Senior to Retired for 110 Fellows. The Regents also approved the following items:
- Statement on Automatic Crash Notifications
- Statement on Workplace Violence
- Best Practices Guidelines: Management of Traumatic Brain Injury (revision)
- Statement on the Physician Acting as an Expert Witness (revision)
- Statement on Surgeon Well-Being (revision)
These statements are available at facs.org/statements; additional details from these statements will be available in the Bulletin and weekly ACS Brief email.
In addition, Regents approved the formation of the Sweden Chapter and integration of the Jacksonville Chapter into the Florida Chapter of the ACS.
Advocacy and Health Policy
The results of a Division of Advocacy and Health Policy strategic review of programs and products were presented, identifying internal and external challenges, defining future vision, and establishing priorities for moving forward.
Topics included:
- ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC
- Coalitions
- Elections
- Future advocacy and health policy agenda
Recommendations included:
- Continuing to focus on top advocacy priorities and efforts by furthering Congressional and Federal relationships after the election results
- Convening focus groups with Fellows to better understand how the College should prioritize advocacy efforts
- Developing additional resources on surgeon expectations to better integrate ACS statements
- Exploring opportunities with other coalitions
- Implementing strategies to increase contributions to the ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC and its value to the membership
- Using ACS programs and leadership groups to expand dissemination of advocacy efforts and priorities
Education
Clinical Congress 2025
The proposed program for Clinical Congress 2025 was presented for the Regents’ comment and review. The final program was approved at the BoR Adjourned Meeting on October 22, 2024.
Fellowship in Surgical Ethics
Offered for the first time in 2015, the Fellowship in Surgical Ethics is sponsored by the ACS Division of Education and The MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at The University of Chicago. The program is intended to prepare surgeons for careers that combine clinical surgery with scholarly studies in surgical ethics and to provide specialized knowledge, skills, and training to develop leaders in the field of surgical ethics. Applications will be accepted for the 2025–2026 academic year until January 2025.
Research and Optimal Patient Care
The Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care (DROPC) provided a status update on the recommendations from an October 2022 strategic analysis of Trauma programs.
Reviewed programs:
- Trauma Quality Programs
- Verification, Review, and Consultation: 590 centers
- Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP): 912 centers
- Performance Improvement and Patient Safety Program
- Trauma Systems Consultation Program
Recommendations:
- Strengthening core trauma quality programs to increase impact and expand reach
- Phase 1 included identifying improvements in content, format, and delivery of the TQIP benchmarking reports
ACS Foundation
The mission of the ACS Foundation, a separate 501(c)(3) organization, is to secure financial support for the College’s charitable, educational, and patient-focused initiatives. The Foundation offers a wide spectrum of funding opportunities for ACS Fellows and supporters to ensure the highest level of surgical care and education.
As of July 1, 2024, more than $217,000 in philanthropic gifts, including eight new gifts or pledges of at least $10,000, had been secured. Highlights of this work are the successful completion of the Excelsior Surgical Society Campaign and Skills Course funding. Chapter Funds continue to grow and more than $25,000 was raised from the Georgia Society of the ACS, North Carolina Chapter, and the South Carolina Chapter. The Missouri Chapter has committed to creating a new Chapter Fund.
Clinical Congress 2024 featured a planned giving presentation to help surgeons better understand the importance and tax implications of estate planning. A revamped and improved Planned Giving website is underway.
The inaugural Surgical Adhesions Summit, funded by Peter and Marshia Carlino, was held in September in Washington, DC. Surgeons from around the globe participated and shared new perspectives and proposed solutions. Due to the success of the Summit, the Carlinos who have already given $1 million for this project, committed to investing an additional $300,000 to support three new research grants.
Dr. Lillian Kao is the Immediate Past Chair of the ACS Board of Governors, as well as division director of acute care surgery, the Jack H. Mayfield, MD, chair of surgery (endowed), and vice-chair for quality of care in the Department of Surgery at the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
