A Message from the President
STS News, Summer 2010

Douglas J. Mathisen, MD

Unfortunately, I must start this column with the news of the recent passing of Ben Wilcox, the 29th President of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Ben was dedicated to our profession. He was a thoughtful leader who always kept the best interests of our specialty as his top priority. He was a true gentleman, valued by many for his sage advice. Ben will be dearly missed by all of his friends and colleagues. 

Ben Wilcox’s devotion to our profession brings to mind a recent encounter with my youngest daughter. We were doing vocabulary homework and came to the word “citizenship”. Citizenship is defined as the rights and responsibilities of individuals to the organization to which they belong. It is important that each of us remember the responsibilities of citizenship. We have a responsibility to participate in our organization and in our profession to foster their advancement.

The November mid-term elections represent such a citizen responsibility. Political action committees (PACs) are important in this political environment. The STS PAC helps us approach congressional leaders and their staff to explain our positions. A PAC’s effectiveness is based not only on dollars, but also on the degree of member participation—and recipients know the extent of that participation. Currently, 10 percent of eligible STS members contribute to the STS PAC, a figure that is much too low. To increase our credibility and promote our ideas, we need much higher participation. I encourage each of you to pull out your checkbook and contribute to the STS PAC whatever amount you feel comfortable with, whether it is $100 or $1,000.

The STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database is among the Society’s most valuable assets with more than 1,000 participants. This degree of participation and the size of the Database have given us great credibility in Washington. We now need the same level of participation in the STS General Thoracic and Congenital Heart Surgery Databases. We have started an initiative to identify cardiac sites that do general thoracic surgery, but do not participate in the General Thoracic Surgery Database. Hopefully, we will be able to encourage many to contribute their general thoracic data. Broad representation and numbers strengthen the Database. A robust General Thoracic Surgery Database will help improve quality comparisons, enhance research opportunities, and allow increased reimbursement through transmission of PQRI data to CMS. I encourage all of you, as good citizens of our profession who perform general thoracic surgery, to participate in the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database.

The all-important five-year review for the Relative Value Update Committee is looming on the horizon. This process determines accurate valuation of our procedures and ultimately proper reimbursement. Members have been asked to complete surveys and provide data. The RUC review process benefits all of us, and it is an important professional responsibility to complete these surveys, if requested.

By the time this newsletter reaches you, the STS Legislative Advocacy Workshop will have been held in Washington, DC. If you attended, you learned about a new initiative through our Washington office. Many health care issues are decided at the state level, and there are now 11 state societies dedicated to cardiothoracic surgery. We are trying to engage these groups and create a state grassroots effort utilizing our Washington staff’s assistance. The eventual goal is to create activity in all 50 states. We hope this effort will result in more effective health policy initiatives.

A number of new initiatives have been adopted that you will hear more about in the months to come. To encourage future leaders, the STS Board of Directors recently voted to present to the membership a proposal for the addition of a resident (Candidate Member) slot on the Board. The membership will vote on this action at the Jan. 31, 2011, business meeting in San Diego. We hope this will help identify future leaders, give them invaluable exposure to the issues confronting our profession, and hopefully encourage participation in the Society. In addition, each Council Chair will try to identify resident opportunities on STS workforces.

Also, adults now outnumber children with congenital heart disease. To focus attention on the challenges in this area, the Board approved the creation of the Workforce on the Surgical Treatment of Adults with Congenital Heart Disease. This new Workforce, chaired by Joseph A. Dearani, MD, will initiate its work this summer.

I would like to enlist your cooperation in making all general surgery residents and medical students aware of a new Pre-Candidate Membership category, which allows the Society to engage future cardiothoracic surgeons. Pre-Candidate Member benefits include an electronic subscription to The Annals of Thoracic Surgery; networking opportunities with cardiothoracic surgery leaders; access to the latest information relevant to cardiothoracic surgery; and free or discounted registration to the STS Annual Meeting and other educational activities. This membership category has rolling admissions (65 Pre-Candidate Members already had joined our ranks through May); completed applications are processed within two to three weeks. Direct those interested to visit www.sts.org/precandidate for more information and an application.

The Program Committee is already working hard to create an outstanding Annual Meeting. New in 2011 will be a perfusion course for residents, to be held on Friday night, Jan. 28, which will be run by Drs. Julie Swain and Thomas MacGillivray. We hope this will become an ongoing event to address the residents’ educational needs in this important area. There will also be a new parallel session for basic science research papers. We think this additional forum will further encourage residents and young faculty in their research efforts. The social program is also taking shape and I think will be enjoyed by all. The highlight will be Tuesday evening with a visit to Miramar, the U.S. Navy’s Top Gun Flight School. It promises to be an exciting event. More details about the Annual Meeting will be available soon (www.sts.org/annualmeeting).