APMA News - January/February 2021 - 12

my private practice and joined the faculty of the Western
Medical Center residency program alongside many great surgeons, including [Nicholas] Grumbine, [DPM]; [Richard]
Viehe, [DPM]; [Lyman] Wilson, [DPM]; [Victor] Cachia,
[DPM]; [Allan] Bernstein, [DPM]; and [Phillip] Radovic,
[DPM]. We had a blast and did a lot of great work at " West
Med, " which was a Level I trauma center. Those cases helped
me to become board-certified by the American Board of Foot
and Ankle Surgery in Foot Surgery and Reconstructive Rearfoot and Ankle Surgery.
One of the parts of my career that I take the most pride in
was teaching more than 50 residents and fellows!

" Every DPM who graduates
is a surgeon. "
- Jeffrey DeSantis, DPM

APMA News: How did you become involved with your state
association?
Dr. DeSantis: After my first or second year in practice, I
was asked by one of the members of our local association to
join the board of the Orange County Podiatric Medical Association [OCPMA]. Like many young physicians, I had no idea
what I was getting into! But the more I got into it, the more I
was drawn to the ability to advance our specialty in dealing
with state and local leaders and specialty medical associations. Many of the West Med faculty were on the OCPMA
board, and we realized we were trained to do much more
than our state practice act allowed and that our patients deserved the benefits of our training. Together, we fought and
won battles at the hospital and local levels because we acted
on our education, training, and experience. Our executive director, Linda Lazarus, set the tone for the way we worked
together and held ourselves. She was so important to our success that the OCPMA funded an APMA Educational Foundation scholarship in her name.
Following my experience with OCPMA, I was elected to
the board of the California Podiatric Medical Association
[CPMA] and worked with Jon Hultman, DPM; Frank Kase,
DPM; David Mazza, DPM; and Keith Greer, Esq., to further
advance our specialty, particularly working with the house of
medicine through the California Medical Association [CMA].
I take very great pride in the work we did during that time,
which resulted in the passage of AB 932, a bill to modernize
the podiatric practice act in California, which was moved
through the legislature by my friend Lou Correa (then a California state legislator and now a member of the US Congress).
The bill was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in
2004 with the support of the CMA. That bill allowed podiatric surgeons to assist on non-podiatric surgeries and allowed
podiatric surgeons to perform amputations (we worked in
12 APMA News January/February 2021

conjunction with the California Orthopaedic Association to
agree to language). It also codified what podiatric surgeons
were doing in relation to ankle surgery, and we mandated a
grandfathering clause to ensure that none of our colleagues
was left behind.
APMA News: Once you had seen the value of being involved at
the state level, how did you become involved in the national
organization?
Dr. DeSantis: Dr. Viehe, a past president of APMA, talked
about what being an APMA board member would entail in
terms of taking time away from family and practice. I discussed it with my wife Laurie, as my daughters were still
young, and with my partner, H. Austin Hewlett, DPM, as he
would have to carry the load when I was back east. They were
both fully behind it, and with the support of the CPMA board,
I ran and was lucky enough to be elected as an APMA trustee.
APMA News: You've served on many APMA committees. Which
committees have made a particular impact on you?
Dr. DeSantis: President Viehe appointed me to what was
the Health Policy Committee. Many APMA members know
[APMA Past President] Lloyd Smith, DPM, who at the time
was chair of the committee. Dr. Smith was a tough leader
and had questions about why this " rookie " would be placed
on his committee! I'm proud to say that it was probably the
best committee I have ever served on, working with Dr.
Smith and other leaders like [APMA Past President] Mike
King, DPM, and I am proud to call both of them not only
mentors but friends!
I was so lucky, as I had a blueprint in Vision 2015 (now
Vision 21st Century)1, which became my life and mission
on the board. This strategic vision for the profession was
introduced early in my tenure on the board, and I served on
that committee every year until handing it off to Scott
Hughes, DPM, who I know is going to take it across the
finish line.
The overall mission of Vision 21st Century is to ensure that
podiatric physicians and surgeons are universally accepted
and recognized as physicians, and over the past decade I have
forged a wonderful relationship with Tilden Sokoloff, MD,
DPM, who constantly pushes me to accept nothing less than
a full, unlimited license for our colleagues. While most of the
objectives of that vision have been met, the overriding goal
for parity for podiatric physicians and surgeons at a national
level still requires work to be done, and those goals remain
paramount for me and my presidency.
APMA News: You've mentioned many renowned leaders in
podiatric medicine and surgery. What qualities do you think make a
great leader?
Dr. DeSantis: I believe it starts with a strong foundation. I
was born on Fort Ord; my father was an Army helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam. Later, I grew up in Chagrin Falls,
OH, which is an idyllic small midwestern town. My mom,

APMA News - January/February 2021

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