SRS.ORG

President's Message

Christopher I. Shaffrey, MD
SRS President

Dear SRS Members,

As I reflect on the first half of my term as President of the SRS, I am proud of all that we continue to accomplish and excited about the future of our Society. Not only are we largely able to return to our normally scheduled in person events, but we have several new initiatives on the rise. Read more.

President's Message
Treasurer's Update
Committee Applications Now Open
Education Committee
iExperience
Health Policy and Advocacy Committee
Historian Corner
IMAST Committee
Pediatric Device Task Force
â€‹Research Promotion and Oversight Committee
Safety and Value Committee
Scoliosis Dialogues: An SRS Podcast
In Memorium
Follow SRS Online

David Skaggs
Treasurer

As we reflect on 2021, I am pleased to report that the SRS remains in good financial health. In early 2021, the Board of Directors approved an anticipated budget, which was considered “break even.” Through conservative planning and the return to some in person events, SRS expects to close the year with a roughly $500,000 gain.

Interested in Getting Involved with SRS? Serve on a Committee!

Committee Application

Have you ever wondered how SRS activities are developed and plans are made? How to work your way into a leadership position on the Board of Directors? It all starts with the committees. Every member has an opportunity to contribute to the success of SRS by volunteering to. The SRS committees are important, not only for accomplishing much of the work of our Society, but for helping to identify and develop our future leaders.

All SRS members, regardless of membership category or country of residence, are eligible for committee appointments. Candidate members are given one-year terms so that they can experience as many committees as possible.

Committee Application Every effort is made to give all volunteers at least one appointment.

Application & Assignment Timeline
Applications Open: March 1, 2022
Applications Close: May 5, 2022
Assignment Notifications: Early August 2022
Committee Meeting Day: Tuesday, September 13, 2022

The application deadline is May 5, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact the SRS office, [email protected] or +1 (414) 289-9107.

Justin S. Smith, MD, PhD
Education Committee Chair

The 57^th SRS Annual Meeting, which will be held September 14-17 in Stockholm, Sweden, will once again be offered in hybrid format to allow for our global membership to participate, regardless of their ability to join us in person due to COVID travel restrictions and challenges. The Education Committee has reviewed numerous applications and put together an exciting educational program for the meeting.

Paul Rubery MD
Health Policy Committee Chair

The Health Policy Committee has worked in three broad areas in support of the SRS and our patients so far in 2021-2022.

Jay Shapiro, MD
Historian

Four years ago, we lost one of the innovators in spinal deformity surgery, and my friend of nearly 30 years Robert M. Campbell Jr. As we get ready for IMAST its important to remember what it takes to innovate and implement change in spinal surgery.

Ahmet Alanay, MD
IMAST Chair

The long-awaited day is now approaching. The first face-to-face IMAST meeting after about 2 years will be held in Miami in April. We all look forward to this important meeting with great excitement.

Patrick Cahill, MD
Pediatric Device Task For Chair

The combined SRS/POSNA Pediatric Device Task Force has continued to work to improve access to pediatric device innovation.

Michael P. Glotzbecker, M.D.
Safety and Value Committee Chair

The 2021-2022 Safety and Value committee is focused on two main initiatives. The first is to finalize and refine the core safety checklist project begun under past chairs Lloyd Hey and Chris Ames. In addition, the Safety and Value committee has begun a new initiative to create and populate a resource library on the SRS website. The goal is to create a road map that can be utilized by other committees to organize content in a similar/standardized way.

Join host Jaysson T. Brooks, MD as they kick-off Women's History Month by having a conversation about Dr. Lori Karol's career with Mark A. Erickson, MD; Lorena V. Floccari, MD; A. Noelle Larson, MD; Amy L. McIntosh, MD; James O. Sanders, MD; and Jay Shapiro, MD.

Carol Wise, PhD
Research Promotion and Oversight Committee Chair

The Research Progress and Oversight Committee (RPOC) is busy preparing for the second annual SRS Research Grant Outcome Symposium, will was held on March 5, 2022, 9 AM ET. As a reminder, the RPOC launched this completely new initiative in 2020 to highlight and disseminate SRS-funded research activities and results.

Cristina Sacramento, MD, PhD
Website Committee Chair

The website committee is working to improve the navigation of the website, making its content more attractive by simplifying the information and redistributing it so that we can eliminate redundant links.

Hendrik Douwe Been, MD

Lori Ann Karol, MD

Martin Edward Wolpin, MD

March 2022

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Treasurer's Update

David Skaggs, MD
Treasurer

As we reflect on 2021, I am pleased to report that the SRS remains in good financial health. In early 2021, the Board of Directors approved an anticipated budget, which was considered “break even.” Through conservative planning and the return to some in-person events, SRS expects to close the year with a roughly $500,000 gain. The exact amount will not be finalized until after the 2021 audit has been completed later this year.

In 2021, SRS’s investment accounts continued to perform well. As Treasurer, the performance of our investment accounts, as well as the fees associated with managing these accounts, are something that I continue to watch and evaluate with the other members of the leadership and the SRS staff.

Earlier this year, the SRS Board of Directors reviewed and approved a 2022 budget with an anticipated profit of approximately $170,000. This amount is greatly affected by attendance at IMAST (April 6-9 – Registration is still open!) and the Annual Meeting (September 14-17 in Stockholm). January also saw the return of $492,000 from the InterContinental Athenaeum Athens for the cancellation of the 2020 IMAST. These funds were accounted for in 2020 and have been considered a receivable since that time. Second, SRS received

As you all know, donations to our Society help ensure its financial health and future. In 2021, SRS received $206,974 in donations, including a $92,000 estate donation from a former patient. As you may have seen, SRS was the recipient of another substantial estate donation by a patient. Mary Ellen Northrop, through her estate, donated $3 million to be used to fund research focused on causes, new and improved methods of treatment for, and potential cures for, idiopathic scoliosis. Read the full news release here.

I look forward to seeing you all in Miami and Stockholm and providing a final 2021 report and updated on our 2022 progress during the Business Meeting in September.