Carolyn Burns, MD
President
Independent PBM Physician
Louisville, KY
Carolyn Burns, MD, is a Board Certified Pathologist (AP/CP) and served as Medical Director of the Jewish Hospital Healthcare System, Department of Pathology in Louisville, KY. from 1991-2011. This included medical directorship of the Transfusion and Tissue Services for this 5-hospital system. Additionally, she is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pathology at the University of Louisville.
After earning her Microbiology degree with Honors from the University of Kansas in 1981, and her Medical Degree Cum Laude from the University of Missouri in 1986, Dr. Burns completed an internship in General Surgery followed by Pathology residency at the University of Louisville.
Dr. Burns is an active member of several medical societies including AABB, American Society of Clinical Pathologists where she serves on the Education Committee, and the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management where she is the editor of the SABM Newsletter.
Dr. Burns is a passionate advocate for blood management, has been published in peer reviewed journals and textbooks, and is often sought as an engaging speaker on diverse transfusion topics.
Linda Shore-Lesserson, MD, FAHA, FASE
President-elect
Professor of Anesthesiology
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell
Vice Chair for Academic Affairs
Director, Cardiovascular Anesthesiology
Northshore University Hospital
Manhasset, NY
Dr. Linda Shore-Lesserson is Professor of Anesthesiology, director of Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology, and Vice Chair for Academic Affairs in Anesthesiology at Northshore-Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York. She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and was an anesthesiology resident and cardiothoracic anesthesia fellow at Mount Sinai in NY. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Anesthesiology, and the National Board of Echocardiography. Dr. Shore-Lesserson is committed to multidisciplinary science and education. She serves as the Immediate Past President of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists during which time she created alliances with the STS and Perfusion societies to create Guidelines for Best Practices in Perfusion Management. She is involved with other medical cardiovascular disciplines as well and is on the Board of Directors and is the SCA liaison to the American Heart Association Surgery and Anesthesia Council. She is the current Chair (outgoing) of the Committee on Patient Blood Management for the American Society of Anesthesiologists and was instrumental in facilitating the “annual” ASA at SABM panel in which ASA members participate. She is also an active program committee member for the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists PGA Annual Meeting. In her editorial activities, she served as a member of the Associate Editorial Board for Anesthesia and Analgesia until 2010 and she continues to review for the journal. She serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia having served as Section Editor of the Case Conference Section and Literature Review sections of this journal in the past. Research interests lie in the field of hemostasis and thrombosis as they relate to cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Shore-Lesserson was involved in the creation of the Joint SABM-ASA panel in which ASA/SABM members present topics of interest in perioperative medicine.
Prakash Patel, MD, FASE
Secretary
Cardiac Anesthesiologist, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Dr. Prakash A. Patel is a cardiac anesthesiologist and Associate Professor at Yale University in New Haven, CT. He completed his medical training at Jefferson Medical College and his anesthesiology residency and cardiac anesthesia fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Patel has strong interests in blood conservation, and he has led several initiatives at his prior hospital to create an algorithmic approach to blood management and transfusion. Further interests include management of post-cardiopulmonary bypass coagulopathy with the appropriate use of factor concentrates in addition to routine clotting factors. His expertise in coagulation has made him an institutional leader on the subject, and he has spoken both nationally and internationally on the topic.
Dr. Patel has been an active member of the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) since 2014 and has been involved in each Annual Meeting since 2015. He participates in the Membership Committee, having served as committee Co-Chair from 2016-17. Dr. Patel’s other active roles in the Society include Scientific Committee Chair (2018) and Annual Meeting Planning Committee Co-Chair (2019). Ultimately, his goals are to expand the PBM concept at his own institution, as well as to further promote the Society and its message.
Rebecca (Becky) Rock, RN
Treasurer
Alberta Health Services, Calgary Zone
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Becky Rock is presently Nurse Clinician, Program Coordinator of the Patient Blood Management Program for Alberta Health Services (Calgary Zone) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Becky has been working in the field of blood conservation since 2007, providing supports for patients in 5 acute care hospitals (4 adult, 1 pediatric). Over the years, and particularly since becoming involved with the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM), Becky has redeveloped the program to provide comprehensive Patient Blood Management (PBM) services and supports which span the patient perioperative experience, regularly utilizing transfusion data to assess impact of initiatives.
Becky regularly collaborates with the Calgary Zone Transfusion Safety Office Leaders in many safety-related projects; an eager public speaker, she also helps to provide transfusion-related education and in-servicing for healthcare professionals and groups both locally and beyond.
Since completing her education in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada, in 1993, Becky’s experience as a Registered Nurse spans both Canada and the United States (Lubbock, TX), primarily in the setting of Critical Care: Post-Anesthesia Recovery, Endoscopy lab, and Intensive Care—Cardiac, Surgical, Trauma, and Cardio-Vascular (post open-heart).
Becky currently holds a number of volunteer roles in local, provincial and international organizations, related to her professional and personal interests:
Sherri Ozawa, RN
Immediate Past President
Client Delivery Lead, Accumen
Clinical Advisor, Institute for Patient Blood Management
Englewood, NJ
Sherri Ozawa, RN, has been involved in the field of patient blood management and bloodless medicine and surgery for over 20 years. As the Clinical Director of the Institute for Patient Blood Management she led creation of the largest and widely known multidisciplinary patient blood management programs in the world. She has lectured throughout the United States and internationally, with a particular focus on the nursing aspects of blood management. She has published numerous peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and abstracts on the subject, and continues to be actively involved in research in the field. Currently, Sherri has served as an Investigator on the first US Federal Government Grant, funding the creation of an organized training program for physicians and other health care professionals in the field of patient blood management.
Jill Cholette, MD At-Large Director
Division Chief, Pedicatric Critical Care
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
Dr. Cholette completed a combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency followed by a Pediatric Critical Care fellowship and subsequently a Pediatric Cardiology fellowship. She is a Professor of Pediatrics and currently the Division Chief of Pediatric Critical Care at the University of Rochester. She serves also as the Medical Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Care Center, the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, and Pediatric ECMO at Golisano Children’s Hospital. She has served on the SABM Research Committee since 2014 and has participated in multiple consensus conference guideline creation and first authored several pediatric randomized controlled trials in children undergoing cardiac surgery. Her interests include blood conservation and prevention of arterial and venous thrombosis.
David Faraoni, MD, PhD, FAHA
At-Large Director
Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada
Staff Anesthesiologist, Division of cardiac Anesthesia
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, Canada
I am a pediatric anesthesiologist from Belgium. Graduated from medical school (Free University of Brussels, Belgium) in 2007, I completed my residency in Anesthesiology and Pediatric Anesthesia at the Free University of Brussels in September 2012. I completed my PhD thesis in June 2015, entitled: “Perioperative Management of Bleeding in Children undergoing Cardiac Surgery”. From October 2014 until June 2016, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Research Associate in the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital. I joined the Hospital for Sick Children in July 2016 where I completed a cardiac anesthesia fellowship. In July 2017, I was appointed as staff anesthesiologist in the Division of Cardiac Anesthesia and the Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children, and Associate Professor of Anesthesia in the department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine at University of Toronto. I am also Associate Scientist in the Department of Translational Medicine at the Sick Kids Research Institute. In the last 10 years, I published over 130 peer-review articles. I have developed transfusion algorithms for cardiac patients in multiple centres. I have published several peer-review articles on the topic of Patient Blood Management and I have contributed or led several International guidelines.
Tiffany Hall, RN
At-Large Director
Clinical Director of Anemia Management, Accumen
Tiffany Hall, RN is a national Patient Blood Management thought leader working in the PBM field since 2008. She is currently the Clinical Director of Anemia Management for Accumen prior to her position as a PBM Clinical Delivery Leader. Her previous positions included the Clinical Director of Patient Blood Management and TSO for the Florida Hospital System and the PBM coordinator for Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Maine. She is an active member of SABM, she previously served on the Board of Directors and as co-editor of the SABM newsletter and is currently the co-director for the PBM Certificate Course and member of the education oversite committee.
Gagan Mathur, MD, MBA, CPE
At-Large Director
Medical Director of Transfusion Service
Children’s Hospital
Los Angeles, CA
Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA
Dr. Gagan Mathur is a board-certified Transfusion Medicine/Blood Banking physician and serves as the Medical Director of Transfusion Service at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Dr. Mathur holds the academic title of Associate Professor of Clinical Pathology at the Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California. He pursued his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from University of Iowa Tippie School of Management during his clinical training at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and recently completed the Certified Physician Executive (CPE) program from the American Association for Physician Leadership (AAPL).
As a physician leader, Dr. Mathur is passionately involved in implementing myriad of patient blood management initiatives throughout his health system. Utilizing his interest and training in business management, informatics, and healthcare administration, he strives to provide effective and efficient patient care. Continued involvement with SABM has helped Dr. Mathur grow personally and professionally. He looks forward to promoting SABM’s goal to make PBM the standard of care.
Sharon Sledge, MA, MS, RN
At-Large Director
Patient Blood Management Coordinator
NYU Langone Medical Center
New York, NY
Sharon Sledge, MA, MS, RN is the Patient Blood Management Coordinator at NYU Langone Medical Center. Sharon has played a central role in preparing a bloodless medicine and surgery program for transition to a system-wide patient blood management program. She has been a nurse for 35 years with experience in critical care, perinatal, OR, home health and various administrative positions. During the past 13 years, her career has focused exclusively on Patient Blood Management where she has revitalized, developed and expanded three patient blood management/bloodless medicine programs that have achieved recognition both domestically and internationally for their cutting-edge advances in this field.
Sharon has lectured at several national and international conferences on anemia and patient blood management. As an active member in the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM), she participates on several committees and has chaired multiple groups including the SABM nurses group, Membership Committee and the Patient Blood Management Awareness Week Committee. Sharon co-authored an article in 2018 entitled “Clinical Experience with the Implementation of Accurate Measurement of Blood Loss during Cesarean Delivery: Influences on Hemorrhage Recognition and Allogeneic Transfusion”. She has served as a mentor and a consultant to new ones entering the field and organizations starting patient blood management programs.
Most recently, Sharon has been actively working as a member of the New Jersey Perinatal Quality Collaborative Health Care Disparities Work Group. Post-partum hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide and in the United States. Since most deaths associated with hemorrhage are preventable, she is using this forum to introduce the vital role patient blood management can play in reducing post post-partum hemorrhage and factors that contribute to it. Her major focus will include education focused on patient blood management strategies and modalities including anemia management, pre-operative optimization, intra-operative/post-operative blood conservative techniques which can be implemented in both urban and suburban community perinatal settings.
Deborah Tolich, RN
At-Large Director
Program Director for Patient Blood Management
Cleveland Clinic Health System
Cleveland, OH
Deborah Tolich, DNP RN, is the program director for Patient Blood Management at Cleveland Clinic Health System. She is an experienced nurse with 35 years in practice of which 22 have been in PBM. In her current role, she leads and manages the translation of PBM into clinical practice through a variety of modalities. With a deep passion for anemia management, she has collaborated in developing anemia algorithms and workflows and was an author for the AABB Press publication Preoperative Anemia Management. Other professional interests include translating data into action, quality & patient safety, and bioethics. She received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in 2014 from American Sentinel University and is a member of SABM and AABB. Serves as the current chair of the AABB PBM Standards Committee, President of her Toastmaster’s club, and Vice President of her knitting guild. In her personal time she dedicates time to prayer and meditation, enjoys taking pilgrimages for spiritual growth, spending quality time with family and friends, and exploring creativity through a variety of crafts. She is married with two adult children, a golden doodle, and a cat.
Mary Ann Sromoski, RN
At-Large Director
Program Manager, Patitent Blood Management Program and Center for Bloodless Medicine
Geisinger
Danville, PA
Mary Ann Sromoski O’Brien, RN, MSN, CCRN, CNE, oversees the Patient Blood Management Program and Center for Bloodless Medicine at Geisinger in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania. MaryAnn and her team have created a comprehensive Patient Blood Management (PBM) program that includes an anemia consultative service- managed by three full-time and one part-time PBM Coordinators and an Advanced Practice Pharmacist; a Transfusion Safety Officer; a real-time, prospective component review process managed by nursing and Resident Pathologists; and a robust, systemwide PBM committee. MaryAnn’s background includes experience in the fields of Critical Care, Trauma, Transplant, and Obstetrics. Support from the Society for the Advancement of Patient Blood Management (SABM) has prepared her well to create an excellent PBM program. Mary Ann co-chairs the SABM Resource Development Workgroup, serves on the SABM Communications committee, is a member of the SABM Newsletter Committee, to which she is a regular contributor; the conference planning committee, PBM awareness week committee; she also acts as a mentor to SABM members developing their PBM programs. She also serves on the AABB PBM Standards Committee, is active in the AABB PBM Sub-Section, and has served as an AABB PEP mentor. MaryAnn and her team’s current focus is developing a systemwide approach to managing anemia in the Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine population, which includes a comprehensive approach to early identification and treatment of anemia and avoidance of unnecessary transfusion in the OB and MFM population.
Majed Refaai, MD
At-Large Director
Professor of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, NY
Dr Refaai is a Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY. At Strong Memorial Hospital, he serves as the Director of the Thrombosis and Hemostasis Lab and the Associate Director of the Blood Bank/Transfusion Medicine Department and the Clinical Laboratory Department, and he holds an appointment as an Associate Director of the Therapeutic Apheresis Unit in the Internal Medicine/Hematology Department. Dr Refaai is also the medical director of a few CSL plasma centers in upstate NY. Dr Refaai received his medical degree from the Aleppo University School of Medicine in Syria. He then joined Massachusetts General Hospital-Harvard Medical School in Boston as a research fellow in a special coagulation research lab. Dr Refaai completed a residency in clinical pathology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO and held a fellowship in transfusion medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas, TX. His research focuses on the in vitro and in vivo effects of ABO antibodies and ABO immuno-complexes on platelet function, coagulation processes, and endothelial cell integrity. Dr Refaai is also working on developing a platelet micro-particles lysate that can be used to control bleeding. This product has been patented. Another patent that Dr Refaai is developing currently is an ABO point-of-care testing device. He is also involved in pharmaceutical clinical trials of emergency reversal of coagulopathy, as well as treatments for deep vein thrombosis and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. Dr Refaai is board-certified in clinical pathology and has published more than 130 peer reviewed articles and book chapters.
Prof. Dr. Axel Hofmann, ME
Advisory Director
Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Health and Medical Science
University of Western Australia
Perth, Australia
Visiting Professor, Institute of Anesthesiology
University Hospital Zurich
Switzerland
Axel Hofmann, Doctor of Medical Science with a Master’s Degree in Economics, is Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Western Australia and Visiting Professor at the Institute of Anesthesiology at the University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
He supports governmental, public and private institutions with the dissemination and implementation of PBM in Australia, Austria, China, India, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, and he cooperates with the European Commission and the World Health Organization.
As a leader in PBM related clinical and health economic research, he published in Anaesthesia, Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anesthesiology, Annals of Oncology, Best Practice & Research Clinical Anesthesiology, Blood Transfusion, BMC Medicine, British Journal of Anaesthesia, British Medical Journal Open, Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, European Journal of Anaesthesiology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of Intensive Care, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Lancet, Nephrology, South African Medical Journal, Oncologist, Transfusion, Transfusion and Apheresis Science, Transfusion Medicine Reviews and Vox Sanguinis. Axel has authored a number of book chapters. His h-index is 30 and his ResearchGate score 35.86 (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Axel_Hofmann).
As invited speaker he lectured in 400+ symposia, congresses and health economic summits worldwide. He consults government institutions, leading pharmaceutical corporations, blood services and NGOs.
He is co-founder of the International Foundation for Patient Blood Management (www.ifpbm.org), where he serves as board member, and founding member of SABM, where he served on the Board of Directors from 2001-2004, He is also a member of the Austrian Society for Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Reanimation.
Rita Schwab
Advisory Director
Retired
Rita Schwab is the recently retired Program Director of Patient Blood Management at a large Pennsylvania health system. She remains a patient advocate, supporting education and research in advancement of the global practice of patient blood management. Rita has more than 30 years’ experience in healthcare administration and is an experienced writer and public speaker.
Aryeh Shander, MD, FCCM, FCCP, FASA
Advisory Director
Emeritus Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, Hyperbaric Medicine
Englewood Health
Adjunct Clinical Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Medicine and Surgery
Icahn School of Medicine
Mount Sinai
Clinical Professor, Dept of Anesthesiology
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Aryeh Shander, M.D., FCCM, FCCP, is the Emeritus Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, Pain Management and Hyperbaric Medicine at Englewood Hospital & Medical Center in Englewood, NJ. He is an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Medicine & Surgery at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Dr. Shander is the Executive Medical Director of The Institute for Patient Blood Management and Bloodless Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Hospital. Dr. Shander also serves as the Clinical Research Director for TEAMHealth Anesthesia.
Dr. Shander lectures nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to anesthesiology, critical care medicine, and patient blood management, notably, blood conservation in medical and surgical patients, volume resuscitation, management of anemia, perfusion techniques, novel hemostatic agents, and artificial blood. His publications have appeared in several prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals including American Journal of Hematology, American Journal of Medicine, American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Anesthesia & Analgesia, Anesthesiology, Anesthesiology Clinics of North America, Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Artificial cells, blood substitutes, and immobilization biotechnology, Best Practice & Research in Clinical Anaesthesiology, British Journal of Anaesthesia, British Journal of Hospital Medicine, Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia, Chest, Clinics of Anesthesia, Critical Care Clinics, Critical Care Medicine, Current Opinion in Hematology, Hematology Journal, JAMA, Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, Journal of extra-corporeal technology, Journal of Surgical Education, Journal of the American College of Surgeons, Lancet, Nature Clinical Practice: Cardiovascular Medicine. Obstetrics & Gynecology, Patient Safety in Surgery, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Pharmacotherapy, Seminars in Cardiothoracic & Vascular Anesthesia, Surgery, Surgical Infections, Transfusion, Transfusion Alternatives in Transfusion Medicine, Transfusion & Apheresis Science, Vascular, and Vox Sanguinis. He is currently serving as a member of Editorial Board of the Transfusion journal and Contagion and supplement editor for the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia.
He is the author/editor of multiple book chapters and contributes to textbooks on blood management, such as Perioperative Transfusion Medicine 2nd Edition (2006) by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Perioperative Blood Management: A Physician’s Handbook, 1st Edition (2006) and 2nd Edition (2009) by American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) and Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM), Basics of Blood Management 1st Edition (2007) by Blackwell, and Health Care Costs: Causes, Effects and Control (2009) by Nova Science Publishers. Dr. Shander is a reviewer for the journals Critical Care Medicine, Anesthesiology, Anesthesia and Analgesia, and Transfusion among others.
He serves as Past President for the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) and is a Fellow of the American College of Critical Care Medicine and the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr. Shander is a founding member of the Board of Directors and was a Past President for National Anemia Action Council (NAAC). Dr. Shander is also a founding member and President-Elect of the Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists (SOCCA) formerly, ASCCA where he serves on committees, both locally and nationally, and in addition, is a member of the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) where he served as Chair of Committee on Patient Blood Management. In 1997 Dr. Shander was recognized by Time magazine as one of America’s “Heroes of Medicine.” Dr. Shander is the Executive Medical Director of the Institute for Patient Blood Management & Blood Medicine and Surgery at Englewood Hospital, which under his direction, received the NJBIZ Magazine’s 2010 Healthcare Hero Award. In 2015, Dr. Shander was the recipient of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center Foundation’s highest honor, the Touchstone Award, in recognition of his commitment to EHMC. In 2018, Dr. Shander was the recipient of the International PBM Implementation Award 2018, by the Patient Blood Management European Network.
Dr. Shander received his medical degree from the University Of Vermont College Of Medicine in Burlington and completed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, where he also served as Chief Resident. Additional postgraduate training included a fellowship in Critical Care Medicine and a residency in Anesthesiology, both at Montefiore Medical Center. Dr. Shander is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Anesthesiology and Hyperbaric Medicine.
Stacey L. Valentine, MD, MPH
Advisory Director
Associate Professor, Dept. of Pediatrics
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Boston, MA
Dr. Stacey Valentine is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She completed her pediatric critical care fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and her Masters of Public Health and Pediatric Health Services Research Fellowship at Harvard University.
Dr. Valentine is the co-chair of the Pediatric Critical Care Transfusion and Anemia Expertise Initiative, an international consensus series focused on creating guidelines for red blood cell transfusion practices in critically ill children. She also served as an invited expert in fluid and transfusion management for the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury Consensus Conference. She also serves as the chair of the Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators BloodNetwork Blood Management Section. She is a fellow of the society of CHEST physicians and is a member of the honorary Society of Pediatric Research. Her research focuses on improving transfusion practices through blood conservation and anemia reduction in critically ill children.