Community Outreach in 2008

SVS Members Volunteer to Treat U.S. Soldiers Injured in Iraq and Evacuated to Germany

Dr. Ruth Bush and other surgeons operate on a U.S. soldier

Organized by David L. Gillespie, MD, 36 SVS members (see list below) are volunteering to fill slots in the surgery rotation of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center at Ramstein Air force Base in Germany where soldiers injured in Iraq are treated. The wartime extremity vascular injuries and complex wounds require complete treatment to occur in-theater. Surgeons found that vascular reconstruction using autogenous veins combined with a strict wound management strategy results in successful limb salvage with remarkably low infection, amputation and mortality rates. From September 1, 2004 to August 31, 2006 in Operation Iraqi Freedom there were 192 major vascular injuries in 4,323 local Iraqi non-coalition troops treated at the Air Force Theater Hospital (Level III) in Balad, Iraq. One hundred thirty-four of the vascular injuries were to the extremities and are the focus of this report. The age range was 4 to 68 years, including 12 pediatric injuries.

Michael Trotter, MD, Donates Materials from the Vascular Annual Meeting to Students at Schools in Need

Michael Trotter, MD, is shown distributing tote bags from the Vascular Annual

Michael C. Trotter, MD, established a program to convert surplus exhibitor material into useful school supplies and teaching aides. Creative teachers enhanced and facilitated the continuity of the educational process for children during times of need. He teamed up with SVS, American College of Surgeons, Cardiovascular Institute of the South, and New Cardiovascular Horizons from which he gathered hundreds of tote bags and other unused materials from their annual meetings.

He and his wife, Diane, established relationships with school officials in New Orleans to donate the materials to schools hard hit by hurricane Katrina.

"In my mind, one of the keys to a child's future and quality of life is education," said Trotter. "The fact that strangers cared enough to organize and contribute in this fashion will hopefully in some small way inspire a future physician." SVS will work with Trotter to expand this program nationally with donations from other organizations and assist schools across the country. According to Trotter, SVS proved that donations of this type do not have to be connected locally. The fact that SVS provided this material from the 2007 Vascular Annual Meeting in Baltimore and helped children in New Orleans speaks volumes. Trotter is currently managing distribution of materials that were produced for the 2008 Vascular Annual Meeting in San Diego.

New York School Teacher Uses SVS' Children's Vascular Health Activity Book in Health Classes

A class of New York PS100 second graders learns about their vascular system through the Society for Vascular Surgery’s new Children’s Vascular Health Activity Book

New York PS 100 health teacher, Jeanne Rizzatti, incorporates the SVS' Children's Vascular Health Activity Book into the curriculum for her students. Rizzatti teaches grades kindergarten through fifth grade. "This year I took the entire fifth grade to the Bodies Experience in New York City. The experience brought what I've been teaching them from the workbook to life," said Rizzatti. Also, she had a physician from Jamaica Hospital visit the fifth grade class. He showed the students pictures of a smoker's lungs, damaged hearts, etc. "His visit made a very positive impression," said Rizzatti.

The on-line Children's Vascular Health Activity Book may be downloaded free-of-charge on VascularWeb in the Patients and Family's section. SVS members are encouraged to work with their local schools in promoting this resource and making a presentation to young students about the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

SIU Department of Surgery Members Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity

Dr. Don Ramsey and other volunteers working on the Habitat for Humanity house in Springfield, Illinois.

Dr. Don Ramsey helping with the siding on a Habitat for Humanity house.

 

Don Ramsey, MD, a general and vascular surgeon at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Ill. became interested in working with Habitat for Humanity through his church. It was celebrating its 150th anniversary by building a house with the charity. The work does not require special skills and he found it to be a fulfilling experience. He suggested his facility, the SIU Department of Surgery, volunteer to assist Habitat. To date, half of the department has assisted in building homes and Dr. Ramsey has personally worked on three houses with Habitat.

The photos at right were taken during the blitz build portion of the house construction on April 25 and 26, 2008. Dr. Ramsey can be identified in these photos by the gold, blue and maroon long sleeve shirt he is wearing.

Habitat for Humanity seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. It selects deserving families as recipients of a home. The charity has built more than 250,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1 million people in more than 3,000 communities with safe, affordable shelter.