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Jennifer Vezina
The Canadian Orthopaedic Assocation
Rescheduling the 58th COA Annual General Meeting (AGM) & the 37th CORS Annual Meeting was not an easy feat, but thanks to the generous support of our members and exhibitors through donations, the active participation of all meeting delegates and the dedication of many volunteers, the AGM, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba this past October, proceeded smoothly, and feedback has been very positive.
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Changing of the Guard: Dr. William R. J. Rennie, COA Past-President, places the Jewel of Office on Dr. Robert M. Hollinshead, COA President, at the transfer of office ceremony held in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Passation des pouvoirs : Le docteur William R. J. Rennie, président sortant, passe la médaille présidentielle au docteur Robert M. Hollinshead, président de l'ACO, lors de la passation des pouvoirs, Winnipeg, Manitoba. |
As outgoing President who was responsible for the logistics of moving the Meeting after its unexpected cancellation in May, Dr. William R. J. Rennie deserves admirable congratulations. He and his wife Norma's gracious hospitality literally made the organizing staff of the AGM, as well as all COA members in attendance, feel right at home in Winnipeg. Not only did they arrange for the involvement of many able volunteers at the last minute to assist COA staff with preparations and registration, including Ms. Simone Beaudet who tirelessly ‘held down the fort' at the registration booths for the entirety of the Meeting, Dr. and Mrs. Rennie also rolled up their sleeves and pitched in an incredible amount of ‘hands-on' assistance from beginning to end of the Meeting.
Over 300 COA members were in attendance, and the theme of the meeting, Knowledge, Research, Education and Friendship, was in strong evidence throughout the two and a half day conference.
Five of the thirteen COA committees met on Thursday, October 2nd, 2003 at the Sheraton Hotel, including the Annual Meetings, Finance & Audit, COPEF/CEOESP, Executive and CPD/CPR Committees. Those committees who were not scheduled to meet in Winnipeg met by teleconference either before or after the AGM, and their respective reports were tabled to the Board. The Nominating & TORC Committees did not hold meetings this year. The COF Board also met on Committee Day to review the previous year but more importantly, discuss a new Strategic Plan that will see the Foundation continue to prosper in the future. As Dr. Hubert Labelle's term as President of the COF expires in January, the Board expressed its sincere appreciation to Dr. Labelle for his dedication and effort in getting the COF back on track. The Board then elected Dr. Paul H. Wright as incoming President effective January 2004. The COA Board of Directors met bright and early on Friday, October 3rd to review Committee Reports, discuss relevant issues at hand and make decisions with respect to what's next for the organization.
After countless revisions required to condense the original Toronto Annual Meeting Programme into a two and a half day ‘long-weekend format', numerous time table changes, and much careful rearranging of presenting authors schedules, Dr. Emil H. Schemitsch and the Programme Committee put together a very concise Scientific Programme, with 125 papers presented, 5 workshops and 11 ICL's. Attentive and capable staff at both the Sheraton Hotel and the Winnipeg Convention Centre allowed for the harmonious flow of this year's Meeting.
Opening Ceremonies on Friday night were decidedly "low key, without any singing or dancing", as Dr. James P. Waddell, emcee of the evening stated, and were indeed entertaining, as attendees got the opportunity to see two very interesting presentations. Dr. Erin L. Boynton, recipient of the 2002 J. Edouard Samson award, presented her work on "The Role of the Macrophage and Polyethylene Surface Chemistry in Total Joint Replacement Failure". Dr. Boynton shared a summary of her findings on the development of a well characterized in vitro model to study the interaction of particulate PE with macrophages and subsequent investigation of the effects of PE particulate phagocytosis, both common denominators in the development of chronic inflammation, periprosthetic osteolysis and subsequent implant failure.
The second presentation of the evening was by the recipient of The 2002 Royal College Medal in Surgery Award, which was created to provide national recognition for original work done by young clinical investigators, who are Fellows of the Royal College, and have completed their research mainly in Canada. Dr. Benjamin A. Alman was presented with the Royal College Medal in Surgery at the Royal College Convocation ceremony in September 2002, and demonstrated his findings to a captivated audience on "B-catenin Stabilization Dysregulates Mesenchymal Cell Proliferation, Motility and Invasiveness, Causing Aggressive Fibromatosis, and Hyper-plasitic Cutaneous Wounds".
Dr. Allan E. Gross provided a positive update on the successful outcome of this year's Hip Hip Hooray walk during the Opening Ceremonies. He announced that 2003 revenues were indeed impressive and that the donations are still coming in from the sites and being totaled as we speak. Dr. Gross also explained how operations of the walk have been streamlined, pointing out that there is of course always room for improvement, as a few kinks still need to be ironed out to avoid any problems in future years. Dr. Gross stressed, as he has in the past, that surgeon involvement in Hip Hip Hooray is key for encouraging participation in the walk, and was happy to inform us that COA member involvement was at a remarkable level this year.
The President's Welcome Reception that followed Opening Ceremonies gave everyone the chance to mingle, get reacquainted with their peers and meet some of the new faces in orthopaedics in attendance.
One of the many highlights from this year's programme were two Symposia held on Saturday, the first one on the agenda being on osteoporosis, moderated by Dr. Earl R. Bogoch, during which key topics in osteoporosis care that concern orthopaedic practitioners were examined, including how the latter are currently leading in the effort to identify and bring to treatment those patients who have experienced fragility fractures and are hence at the highest risk for the condition. The session included electronic polling to provide current feedback from the Canadian orthopaedic profession regarding osteoporosis, namely knowledge, attitudes and opinions, and was followed by discussion from the panellists.
| The COA 2003 AGM - a 'family affair' |
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| Doctors Greidanus Jr. & Sr. - son Nelson of Vancouver (BC) on left, father Thomas of Edmonton (AB) on right |
'The Wright Brothers' - Dr. Paul H. of Burnaby (BC) on the right, Dr. C. Stewart of Toronto (ON) on the left |
| Photos courtesy of Dr. P. Wright |
The second symposium on the bill was entitled "Access to Care", moderated by Dr. Robert B. Bourne, who talked about the role of our Canadian Joint Replacement Registry in improving access to care. His fellow presenters discussed the problem from a CMPA, an ethical and a policy and political perspective. This year's Ian MacNab Lecture by Dr. Laura Tosi followed the session.
This year's R.I. Harris Guest Lecturer was Dr. Richard Cruess, who on Saturday presented a captivating talk about professionalism, his presentation simply titled after the topic. Dr. Cruess focused on how physicians must simutaneously serve two roles - that of the Healer and the Professional, and how the Healer must function as a professional in modern society. He suggested that for professionalism to survive, medicine must be aware of its obligations and meet them, and in turn, medicine must convince society that the professions are of value and public policy must support the values of professionalism.
The COA Business Meeting was held (following a quick but hearty lunch) in the Presentation Theatre of the Winnipeg Convention Centre on Saturday, October 4th. The Meeting was attended by a large turnout of interested members. The new officers of the Association were announced at the assembly, and congratulations go out to Dr. Robert B. Bourne of Toronto, Ontario for his nomination as 2nd President-Elect.
Dr. Robert M. Hollinshead delivered a memorable President-Elect address, focused mainly on the topic of how medical politics go hand in hand with health care reform in Canada, and "… what we as orthopaedic surgeons can do to influence health care decisions." He stated that: "The Canadian Orthopaedic Association is a strong advocate for benchmarks and standards … because our patients deserve to know what they should expect from their health care system: in terms of quality, and in terms of timely access. It is this advocacy that prompted the COA to seek intervener status … along with the Canadian Medical Association …in a case that is going before the Supreme Court of Canada".
Dr. Hollinshead ended his speech by stating: "We can affect change … and we can effect change", and closed with a few thoughts and kind words on Dr. Alexandra (Sandy) Kirkley, whom we suddenly lost in a tragic airplane accident last fall, and talked about a small part of her remarkable legacy. Dr. Hollinshead's final comment was that he was told that some think he will have been the ‘shortest' President of the COA, whereas he'd argue he is one of the tallest.
COFAS held their First Annual Specialty Day on Saturday, and despite a scheduling conflict with the Foot & Ankle Session being held simultaneously, the day proved successful for the Society, and featured a robust programme put together by a programme committee chaired by Dr. Elly Trepman, followed by a Business Meeting attended by the COFAS Board of Directors. JOINTS Canada, formerly the Canadian Shoulder Research Group (CSRG), founded and established by Dr. Sandy Kirkley in 1999, also held their meeting at the COA Annual Meeting on Sunday.
Dr. Barry W. Malcolm and his hard working Local Arrangements Committee stepped up to the plate when the Toronto meeting was postponed, and were key in getting everything in place in Winnipeg. Much congratulations and gratitude go out to him and his team, including such enthusiastic and capable volunteers as Mmes Pat Bent, Nancy Malcolm, Robbin and Devon Richards, Marilyn Wright, and all of their associated helpers who made the rescheduling of the Gala evening "Them Canadian Bones" possible. Thanks to many generous prize donors and a good number of equally generous participating bidders, an impressive total surpassing all expectations of over $30,000 was raised at the fundraising event held on Saturday night in support of the Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation and the Alexandra Kirkley Young Investigators Award. Dr. Robert Litchfield announced this year's winner of the Award, Dr. Pascal-André Vendittoli, for his study entitled "Étude randomisée comparant l'analgésie locale et parentérale lors du remplacement articulaire du genou", after presenting a very touching tribute to Sandy, his research partner and friend whom he worked closely with since their meeting during their residency together. The evening was a resounding success: all auction items were sold (the majority for their minimum value or above), Dr. Paul Wright's auctioneer skills impressed everyone in attendance, and an enjoyable time was had by all.
Mr. Doug Thomson, CEO of COA and COF, is pleased with the turnout of the Meeting. "Overall, the meeting was a huge success, based on the total number of registrants, including many on-site participants who did not pre-register," he stated, "and participant feedback has been nothing but positive".
Dr. F. Kelly DeSouza, incoming Local Arrangements Chair, and his Committee already have much of the groundwork laid for what will be an innovative meeting next year, and look forward to seeing you all at in Calgary next June.
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