Sandia Orthopaedic Alumni Society - Albuquerque

Sandia Orthopaedic Alumni Society
RECONNECT
REDISCOVER
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Volume 3
Highlights
2nd Annual
Eric Thomas
Memorial—a
Huge Success!
Page 2
Where Are They
Now?
Page 3
SOAS Hosts
Visiting Professor
and Cadaveric Lab
for Residents and
Fellows
Page 4
Joel Lubin
Visiting Professor
Page 5
Issue 3
Cancer Fund of New Mexico. I
would like to thank Ryan Wood in
the Department of Orthopaedics, our
volunteers, the tournament committee,
Dear Colleagues,
Scott Gates, and George Trujeque for
SOAS continues to grow
an outstanding job is making this year’s
thanks to the generous support of our
tournament such a huge success.
orthopaedic alumni, the Department
We hope to see you next year at
of Orthopaedics, and UNM School of
the 3rd Annual Eric Thomas Memorial
Medicine Alumni Affairs. SOAS has
Golf Tournament slated for September
sponsored many activities and events
14, 2013.
this year including our annual alumni
Please visit our webpage at
reception at the AAOS meeting in San
Francisco, laboratory coats for the new http://orthopaedics.unm.edu/soas/joinsoas.html for additional information
residency class that started in July, a
about SOAS and the Department of
cadaver lab for visiting professor Dr.
Orthopaedics. If you have not yet
Jorge Orbay in July, our 2nd annual
renewed your SOAS membership, we
Eric Thomas golf tournament, and the
encourage you to get involved.
1st publication of the University of
You can also call Ryan Wood at
New Mexico Orthopaedics Research
(505) 272-8745, should you have any
Journal.
questions about your 2012 membership
On September 15th, SOAS
or upcoming events like the Joel Lubin
hosted our 2nd Annual Eric Thomas
Memorial Golf Tournament at the UNM Memorial Professorship, which is
South Championship Golf Course. The tentatively scheduled for March or
April 2013.
event was a huge success with over
100 players competing in a scramble
Sincerely,
format to honor and celebrate the life
and legacy of Eric and to help bring
awareness to such an important illness. Dean W. Smith,
On behalf of Eric and Kari Thomas and M.D.
the Sandia Orthopaedic Alumni Society, Class of 2000
a donation was made to The Children’s SOAS President
Letter from the
President
2nd Annual Eric Thomas Memorial—a Huge Success!
For those who were unable to
attend Saturday, September 15 at the UNM
Championship Golf Course was a day filled with
beautiful sunshine, warm weather, prizes, great
food, and, of course, golf. This year’s event
was extremely successful, doubling the revenue
from last year and attracting a vast interest from
potential future sponsors and participants. SOAS
also made the Children’s Cancer Fund of New
Mexico (CCFNM), a secondary beneficiary to
help support children and their families with the
financial and emotional difficulties associated
with youth’s undergoing cancer treatment. The
tournament played host to nearly 100 participants,
close personal friends and family of Dr. Eric
Thomas, and beautiful New Mexico weather.
The tournament committee composed
of: Dr. Mark Crawford, Dr. Robert Schenck,
Jr., Dr. Thomas DeCoster, Dr. Jeremy Becker,
Dr. Dean Smith, Kari Thomas, Scott Gates,
George Trujeque, and Ryan Wood who all did an
outstanding job to ensure that this was a fun and
exciting day of golf while raising money to help
support orthopaedic resident education and the
CCFNM. However, this tournament would not
have been possible if it weren’t for the amazing
support we received from our title sponsors:
SOAS Newsletter pg 2
Southwest Medical Systems, Baxter Healthcare,
Life Spine, and Amedica. Others who made
this possible are: NuVasive Spine Technologies,
New Mexico Orthopaedic Associates, Hanger
Clinic, Dr. Tim McAdams (Class of 2000),
GolfTec, Scarpas Restaurant, Admiral Beverage
Corporation, and Nexus Brewery. Thank you to
all our alumni who attended or contributed to this
memorial event and to the faculty who sponsored
residents to play.
Building off the platform of success from
the past 2 years we hope to make the 3rd Annual
Eric Thomas Memorial Golf Tournament even
better. So, dust off your clubs and save the date
for Saturday, September 14, 2013 at the UNM
Championship Golf Course for a great day of golf,
catching up with alumni and faculty, and to show
your support for a great cause.
Dr. Mark Crawford
People find their way to
medicine among many different
paths. Dr. Mark Crawford, Class
of 1994, took a path that led from
Kentucky to Ivory Coast and then
back to the American Southwest.
He is currently the Director of Orthopaedic Spine
Surgery at ABQ Health Partners in Albuquerque,
but, in 1978, he was a brand new Peace Corps
volunteer sent to live and work in a village of 400
in West Africa. He spent two years there, teaching
construction and helping build medical facilities
while living in a mud hut. Dr. Crawford credits his
service in the Peace Corps as the most powerful
reason for his becoming a doctor.
He earned his medical degree from the
University of Arizona in 1989 then came to UNM
for his residency. He remembers those years this
way: “Long hours and hard work, and rounds with
Dr. DeCoster.” (Sound familiar to anyone else?)
After a fellowship in spine surgery in Kentucky,
Dr. Crawford returned to UNM as Chief of Spine
Surgery, where he taught for six years.
These days, when he’s not in the OR or
the clinic, he can be found on the golf course.
He and his wife of thirty years, Carol, have a
daughter, Casey, attending UNM. And what does
Dr. Crawford have planned for the future? Simple.
“More golf,” he says.
SOAS Newsletter pg 3
SOAS Hosts Visiting Professor and Cadaveric Lab for Residents and
Fellows
The Sandia Orthopaedic Alumni Society
and visiting professor Dr. Jorge Orbay hosted
a Distal Radius Plating cadaveric laboratory
for current orthopaedic residents and fellows
Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at the UNM Domenici
Center for Health Sciences Education. Dr.
Orbay founder and chief medical director
of the Hand Institute out of Miami, FL and
President and CEO Skeletal Dynamics is
a renowned hand surgeon and innovative
designer of orthopaedic implant products.
Amongst many of his designs he helped
to pioneer the volar plating system used for
distal radius fractures, which is still very
commonly used to this day. Along with the
invaluable hands on experience outside of
the operating room the residents and fellows
obtained from the cadaver lab, Dr. Orbay also
presented: “Advancement in Distal Radius
Fractures Using a Volar Plate,” at Grand
Rounds the following day.
The lab was very well received and
attended by residents, fellows, and faculty
alike. Assistant Professor Dr. Deana Mercer
SOAS Newsletter pg 4
said, “It was an excellent learning opportunity
for orthopaedic residents to work with a
renowned orthopaedic surgeon who has
spent much of his career understanding distal
radius fractures.” The lab coincided with
the welcoming of the departments 5 new
orthopaedic residents in June, which gave
them an introduction to a common injury that
they will likely treat very often during their
residency at UNM.
“SOAS memberships and contributions
help to make this happen and we hope
to continue these efforts in the future,”
says Dr. Dean Smith SOAS President.
SOAS is committed in the effort to assist
current UNM Orthopaedic Residents with
educational expenses and the enhancement
of their educational experience at UNM.
Your commitment and contributions are
what make this a possibility. Thank you for
your continued support and special thanks to
Dr. Jorge Orbay and Skeletal Dynamics for
making the trip to Albuquerque and sharing his
knowledge and experiences in his expertise.
Joel Lubin Visiting Professor
SOAS began raising money for the Joel
Lubin Visiting Professorship Fund shortly
after the untimely death of Dr. Joel Lubin
(Class of 2001) to commemorate his life and
legacy. The fund was established to allow the
department to invite a luminary in the field of
orthopaedics to present at Grand Rounds and
spend a day teaching in his or her subspecialty
once a year. Because of individual efforts
made by SOAS members and the UNM
Department of Orthopaedics, but primarily
because of you and the continued support we
received from alumni and faculty, the Joel
Lubin Visiting Professorship Fund has reached
its initial fundraising goal.
The first Visiting Professor presentation
is tentatively scheduled for March or April
2013 and will be given by a specialist in
trauma. Dr. Dean Smith (Class of 2000),
president of SOAS and board certified hand
surgeon, in Houston Texas, will join us,
as will Dr. Michael Willis (Class of 2000)
board certified sports medicine surgeon in
Billings, Montana. Drs. Willis and Smith were
both close friends. They have generously
volunteered to speak to the residents and share
their years of experience and expertise to help
better the educational experience at UNM for
current orthopaedic residents.
The response we received from UNM
faculty and alumni and friends and family of
Dr. Lubin shows how much he was loved and
appreciated as a compassionate physician, a
gifted teacher, and a cherished family member.
The Visiting Professorship established in his
name is meant to recognize Joel’s service
in orthopaedics in the way he would find
most fitting and to express our sympathies to
his family – wife Jennifer; children Joshua,
Taylor, and Parker; parents Mike and Linda;
and brother Mark – for their loss.
SOAS and the UNM Department of Orthopaedics want this Visiting Professorship
to be a yearly event, and it can be with your
continued support of our goal of establishing
an annual principle balance of $5,000. For
more information about the Joel Lubin Visiting
Professorship Fund, or to make a donation,
visit http://orthopaedics.unm.edu/soas/
lubin-fund.html or contact Ryan Wood in the
Department of Orthopaedics at 505-272-8745
or at rwood03@salud.unm.edu.
SOAS Newsletter pg 5
Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation
MSC10 5600
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Faculty,
fellows, and
residents
enjoying some
time off!
Have a good
weekend!