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said Scott A. Leckman, MD, FACS,
adjunct assistant professor of
surgery, University of Utah
School of Medicine, Salt Lake
City. “We do this because we
want to make a life-altering
difference for others.”
In 2001, Dr. Leckman helped
to lead the launch of the Health
Access Project, a program that
improves access to comprehensive
health care for low-income and
uninsured patients in Salt Lake
County. Dr. Leckman described
the challenges associated with
recruiting the initial batch
of surgeon participants.
“The first physician I talked
to said, ‘No way, I already do
too much free care,’ but he was
talking about people who don’t
pay their bills. I was talking
about giving a gift to someone
in need,” Dr. Leckman said. “I
asked physicians to sign up for one
patient per month. That wasn’t
scary to anyone, and sign up they
did. Patients are given a Health
Access Project card, which looks
like a standard health insurance
card, and they wait in the same
waiting rooms as other patients.
When I operate on an Access
patient, I am typically the only
one in the room who is aware of
this,” explained Dr. Leckman,
who recruited the program’s first
300 physicians. Today, more than
600 physicians and nine hospitals
in the county are providing free
care to qualified individuals,
totaling more than $22 million
in donated health care.
In recognition of this
effort, in 2014 Dr. Leckman
received the ACS Surgical
Volunteerism Domestic Award.
He now serves on the Global
Engagement Committee of
Operation Giving Back (OGB),
and chairs the Domestic
Volunteerism Subcommittee.
“I don’t know what your
destiny will be, but one thing
I know—the only ones among
you who will be really happy are
those who will have sought and
found how to serve,” said Dr.
Leckman, ending his presentation
with a quote from philosopher
and physician Dr. Albert
Schweitzer. “So, what can you
do? Check the ACS OGB website
for volunteer opportunities, but
there are many more we don’t
know about. Tell us what is
going on in your community.
If you don’t see anything in
your area, be a leader and fill
that need. If you ever hear your
inner voice say, ‘Somebody
should do something,’
remember, you are somebody.”
The state of the ACS chapters
After analyzing data from the
2016 Survey of ACS Domestic
Chapters, which had a response
rate of 82 percent, College
leaders were able to determine
strengths and opportunities
for improvement in the
following six categories:
•Member recruitment
•Chapter council/committee
representation
•Financial health
• Communications
•Chapter meetings
• Advocacy
S. Rob Todd, MD, FACS,
professor of surgery and chief,
acute care surgery, Baylor
College of Medicine, and chief,
general surgery and trauma,
Ben Taub Hospital, Houston,
TX, presented details about the
survey results, which will be
disseminated to all chapters.
Highlights are as follows:
•Of the respondents to the
survey, 12 percent indicated
a 10 percent increase in
membership, while 18 percent
noted a 10 percent decrease.
• The top revenue streams for
the chapters include annual
dues, meeting registration
fees, exhibitor income, and
income from investments
and sponsorship income.
•Chapters report they most
commonly communicate
with their members quarterly,
Dr. Todd
ACS Regents Margaret M. Dunn, MD, FACS (left),
and Beth H. Sutton, MD, FACS Dr. Davis