NEWS RELEASE
September 14, 2020
Contact: Ashtin Neuschaefer, CAE, Scoliosis Research Society
Phone: 414-289-9107
Email: [email protected]
Scoliosis Research Society Announces Recipient for the Walter P. Blount Humanitarian
Milwaukee, WI (September 14, 2020) – During the 55th SRS Annual Meeting held virtually, the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) announced Francisco J. Sánchez Pérez-Grueso Sr., MD as the Walter P. Blount Humanitarian award winner.
The Walter P. Blount Award is a humanitarian award given to an individual who has provided outstanding service for those with spinal deformities, through their generous actions out of a sense of service to larger social and professional goals.
Dr. Sánchez Pérez-Grueso was instrumental in the planning an execution of the SRS Bulgaria Outreach site. Not only completing several scouting trips, but creating the blueprint for this program. He regularly visited, and aided the local surgeons in creating a self-sustaining surgical team. Steven Mardjetko, MD, FAAP had this to say of Dr. Sánchez Pérez-Grueso’s work with the Bulgaria site: “His quiet, thoughtful presence in the clinics provided the judgement that helped the program flourish. His teaching skills in the clinic and in the operating room were crucial to the program’s success. He’s a natural leader, in the clinic and in the operating theatre. He was the ‘go to’ guy for the host surgeons. His close proximity to Sofia from Madrid allowed him to do impromptu trips to help with difficult cases.”
Not only did Dr. Sánchez Pérez-Grueso impact the SRS outreach site in Bulgaria, he was an early participant in building Oheneba Boachie-Adjei’s FOCOS hospital in Ghana, regularly visiting, and leading the Spanish team of doctors.
Former Walter P. Blount Humanitarian Award winner, Kenneth J. Paonessa, MD had the following to say about Dr. Sánchez Pérez-Grueso, “Paco is a true scholar and gentleman with a deep Humanitarian heart. He is quiet, non-boastful, but yet approachable to his peers and students… I think he is a perfect example of what the Blount Award recipient should be like.”
The Scoliosis Research Society is a non-profit, professional organization, made up of physicians and allied health personnel. Our primary focus is on providing continuing medical education for health care professionals and on funding/supporting research in spinal deformities. Founded in 1966, SRS has gained recognition as the world's premier spine deformity society. Please visit www.srs.org for further information.
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