Vital Times 2019 - 13

ASA Director's Report
Spotlight on the ASA: the 2019 Annual
Meeting in Orlando and Beyond
By Linda Hertzberg, MD, FASA | ASA Director

O

rlando is home to a
multitude of theme
parks and attractions;
I became acquainted with
nearly all of them thanks
to a well-planned visit by
my adult daughter after
the conclusion of the ASA
Annual Meeting. And yes,
the Toy Story reference is
accurate - there is a Toy Story area in Hollywood Studios
and I did several of the rides there as well.
The first five days I spent in Orlando at the ASA Annual
Meeting were all business. The CSA had a full delegation
in attendance. The big news for California at the ASA
meeting was the nomination of Patricia Kapur, MD,
for the 2019 ASA Distinguished Service Award. The
ASA House of Delegates (HOD) voted to accept the
nomination, and Dr. Kapur will receive the award at the
2020 ASA Annual Meeting.
Dr. Patricia Kapur held many important positions at
both UCLA, as well as in the larger anesthesiology
medical community during her distinguished career,
including serving as Chair of the Department of
Anesthesiology of the David Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA for 17 years. She continues to work in a
volunteer capacity at the University of Pennsylvania

Department of Anesthesiology & Critical Care, by
providing career development mentoring for faculty,
fellows, residents, and medical students.
Dr. Kapur served the American Society of
Anesthesiologists (ASA) in many capacities over the
36 years of her active membership, including as Chair
of the Section on Education and Research for nine
years, and Chair of the Section on the Annual Meeting
for the 2008 meeting. Dr. Kapur delivered the Emery
A. Rovenstine Memorial Lecture at the 2011 ASA
Annual Meeting. She served the California Society of
Anesthesiologists (CSA) as Chair of the Educational
Programs Division, as Secretary and member of the
Board of Directors, and as a long-time delegate to the
ASA House of Delegates. Dr. Kapur delivered the Forrest
Leffingwell Memorial Lecture at the 2015 CSA Annual
Meeting and was awarded the CSA Distinguished
Service Award in 2017.
Congratulations to Dr. Kapur on a well-deserved honor!!
There were no surprises in the ASA elections since,
unlike last year, no positions were contested. CSA
congratulates our own Linda Mason, MD, FASA, on an
outstanding year as ASA President. Dr. Mason kept up
with a busy, unpredictable, and demanding schedule,
representing the ASA and its members to the media,
lawmakers, and others - internationally and internally -

Annual Publication 2019 | 13
Vital Times 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vital Times 2019
