Changing of the Guard

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons is under new management.

During its 2016 Annual Meeting last week in Orlando, Fla., the organization underwent a changing of the guard, as outgoing President David D. Teuscher, M.D., passed the gavel to his first vice president, Gerald R. Williams Jr., M.D.

“He’s a skilled orthopedic surgeon, dedicated to his patients and family,” Teuscher said as he introduced Williams, one of his final acts as president during a formal ceremony on March 3. “Jerry is an incredible, effective advocate for our organization.”

Williams’ new role is the final in a three-year term of volunteer service, after serving as a vice president of the Academy for the past two years.

Williams is a member of the Shoulder and Elbow Center at the Rothman Institute and the John M. Fenlin, Jr., M.D., professor of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, Pa. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., and a medical degree, with honors, from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He completed an internship and residency in orthopedic surgery and a fellowship in shoulder surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas.
 
Williams previously served in several leadership roles for AAOS, including a two-year term on the Board of Directors, chair of the Continuing Medical Education Courses Committee, and a position on the Shoulder and Elbow Evaluation Committee.

Active in more than a dozen professional societies and councils, Williams also served as a past president of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, the Philadelphia Orthopaedic Society and the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society. He also is co-founder and former president of the Mid-Atlantic Shoulder and Elbow Society.

“I am honored and humbled to stand before you as your 84^th president,” Williams said in his first presidential speech. “We’ve achieved a great deal and our Academy’s many parts are integrated and strong. But there is much left to be done if we are to remain unified within our profession, which I believe is more critical today than ever before.”

Williams urged his fellow surgeons to become more involved with the AAOS’ political action committee, noting the importance of advocacy as it relates to patients and orthopedic surgery. He also promised to work harder to obtain more musculoskeletal funding, challenging Academy members to “step up” their game.

Perhaps one of the most difficult hurdles for Williams during his reign will be meeting the educational needs of orthopedic surgeons, one of the most diverse groups in the medical profession. “We are in a historically trying time in education. The Academy has invested heavily to convert its website, and create digital, scalable platforms for the delivery of learning content. We also invested in a state-of-the-art orthopedic learning center. But the road ahead is going to be far from easy. Our membership has never been more diverse in terms of age, race, income, ethnicity, and specialty. Trying to deliver value to such a diverse group will not easy,” he said. “But I hope you all will join me in embracing the opportunities that await us.”

Williams’ right-hand man in the next 12 months will be California orthopedic surgeon William J. Maloney III, M.D., AAOS first vice president. He will assume the presidency next year.

Maloney specializes in joint replacement and is the Elsbach-Richards professor in Surgery and professor and chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif. He also is a team physician for the Golden State Warriors and San Francisco 49ers. 

Maloney earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology at Stanford University and a medical degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, N.Y. He completed an internship and served as junior, senior and chief resident in orthopedic surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in hip reconstruction surgery at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Maloney previously served on the faculty at the Washington University School of Medicine Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and as chief of orthopedics at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo.

Maloney has served on several AAOS committees, including the Council on Education. He championed the formation of the American Joint Replacement Registry, and chaired its board of directors. Additionally, Maloney has been a part of board leadership for the Knee Society, the Hip Society, the Western Orthopaedic Association, and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. He is a past president of the Hip Society, and a recipient of numerous research awards.

Also lending a hand to Williams (and Maloney) is Vermont orthopedic surgeon David A. Halsey, M.D., AAOS second vice president. He will assume the presidency in 2018.

Halsey is a professor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine in Burlington, Vt. and director of the Universty of Vermont Medical Center Adult Reconstruction Service. Prior to joining the full-time academic faculty in the University of Vermont Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, he was in a small group private practice for 18 years in the Upper Valley region of Vermont and New Hampshire. 

Halsey earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt., and his medical degree from the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed a general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Vermont.

Halsey has served in a myriad of leadership roles across 15 different councils and committees over his 20 years of volunteering for the AAOS, including two terms on the AAOS Board of Directors, Chair of the Board of Specialty Societies, Chair of the Board of Councilors, Chair of the Council on Advocacy and as a board member of the Orthopaedic PAC.  He also had the privilege of serving as an officer in the presidential line of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS), a member of the executive committee of the Vermont Orthopaedic Society as well as the Board of Coucilors of the Vermont Medical Society. In addition, he has served as an advisor to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services as both a specialty society member of the American Medical Association’s RUC panel, a multi-disciplinary group of medical specialty societies who offer assistance in helping to determine reimbursement values to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Commission on Ambulatory Payment Classification.

Florida orthopedic surgeon Lawrence S. Halperin, M.D., became AAOS Board of Councilors chairman during the executive management changeover. Halperin specializes in hand, elbow and shoulder surgery at the Orlando Orthopedic Center (in Florida). He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biological chemistry at Tulane University in New Orleans, La., and a medical degree at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate Medical Center. Halperin completed an internship in general surgery and a residency in orthopedic surgery at the SUNY Health Science Center and Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. He also completed a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery with the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the SUNY Upstate Medical Center (formerly the SUNY Health Sciences Center) in Syracuse, N.Y.

Halperin previously served as chair of the Academy’s Advocacy Resource Committee and was a part of the BOC for four years before his election into its leadership line. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Florida Orthopaedic Society and the Orange County Medical Society.

Brian G. Smith, M.D., became AAOS Board of Specialty Societies chairman. Smith, is a professor and residency director of the Department of Orthopaedics at the Yale University School of Medicine Rehabilitation and serves as director of pediatric orthopedics at the Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital in New Haven, Conn. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., and medical degree at the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. He completed a general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital, and a pediatric orthopedic surgery fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. Smith also served four years as a staff orthopedic surgeon for the United States Air Force at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Smith has clinical interests in spinal deformity, neuromuscular disorders and fractures in children.

He is currently the chair-elect of the AAOS Board of Specialty Societies and serves on the Academy Board of Directors. He was previously president of the Connecticut Orthopaedic Society, chair of the Ethics Committee of the Scoliosis Research Society, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and the Orthopaedic Section of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

New AAOS members-at-large include:

Robert H. Brophy, M.D., an associate professor of sports medicine in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, his alma mater (medical degree). He graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, a Bachelor of Science degree in electronic engineering, and a Master of Science degree in industrial engineering. He completed an internship and residency in orthopedic surgery, along with a fellowship in sports medicine and shoulder surgery, at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, N.Y.

Brophy served on numerous committees for the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the American Orthopaedic Association and the Orthopaedic Research Society. He also sat on the editorial board for the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Over the course of his career, he completed several fellowships and most recently was selected for the American Orthopaedic Association American-British-Canada Traveling Fellowship where he toured orthopedic centers in several countries to exchange ideas and best musculoskeletal practices.

Brophy was a team physician for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL) prior to their recent move to Los Angeles.

Brian J. Galinat, M.D., MBA, chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Lead of the Musculoskeletal Service Line at Christiana Care Health System in Wilmington, Del. He is a clinical assistant professor at the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Orthopaedic Surgery in Philadelphia, Pa. After graduating from Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Va., with a Bachelor of Science degree, he earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, Va. He completed an orthopedic residency at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and a fellowship in shoulder surgery and sports medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, N.Y. His Master of Business Administration degree was earned at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

Galinat served on the AAOS Board of Councilors for six years as a member of the State Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Committee and the Evaluation Committee. He also served on the AAOS Coding, Coverage and Reimbursement Committee for seven years. He is the first AAOS Board of Directors member from Delaware.

M. Bradford Henley, MD, MBA, became AAOS treasurer. Henley is professor of orthopedic surgery and sports medicine at the University of Washington Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Science degree in molecular and cellular biology, a Master of Business Administration degree, and a medical degree. He completed a general surgery internship and orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas, and a fellowship in traumatic and reconstructive orthopaedic surgery at the Technical University of Munich in Germany.

Henley previously served three years on the AAOS Board of Directors in the leadership line of the AAOS Board of Specialty Societies, and volunteered in various capacities with the AAOS Coding, Coverage and Reimbursement Committee. He also served as both the past president and treasurer of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association. The author of numerous scientific articles and presentations, Henley has a passion for medical and orthopedic economics.