By Mark Zakowski, MD, FASA, Chair, CSA Foundation for Education Board of Directors
The CSA Foundation for Education was first envisioned several years ago under the presidency of Dr. Jim Moore and established with the persistent leadership of Dr. Karen Sibert.
The CSA Foundation for Education was established as a separate charitable entity to support the future of anesthesiology in California and to help build a pipeline of talent and knowledge primarily through investments in three areas:
- Partnerships linking Anesthesiology Residency Programs with local high schools leveraging the Project Lead the Way Biomedical Sciences curriculum with resident and faculty visits;
- Celebrating the history of anesthesia in California through an annual essay contest for residents and fellows in anesthesiology;
- Promotion of unique research projects by anesthesia residents and fellows.
Foundation Fundraising Luncheon
Nearly 50 CSA leaders and members attended a fundraising luncheon on Saturday, June 1, to kick off the 2024 House of Delegates meeting in San Jose. Our featured speaker was Dr. David Spodick, Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Biomedical Sciences (BMS) teacher at Willow Glen High School in San Jose. Willow Glen is one of three high schools within the CSA/Stanford/PLTW partnership, along with Palo Alto HS and Leland HS.
Dr. Spodick reviewed the elements of the PLTW BMS curriculum, taught as a four-year pathway program. Dr. Spodick informed CSA members that the PLTW BMS curriculum is hands-on project based to engage and stimulate problem solving and critical thinking skills. By facilitating the application of students’ academic knowledge in real world situations, students become better prepared to compete and succeed in post-secondary endeavors and in the workplace. Two of Dr. Spodick’s students, Max Perez and Ellie Wallace, attended and affirmed the great value of the PLTW BMS curriculum and the partnership with CSA and the Department of Anesthesiology at Stanford. CSA member Dr. Genevieve D’Souza also emphasized the value of the PLTW BMS curriculum and the dedication of Dr. Spodick – as both of her children were his students at Willow Glen.
CSA/Project Lead the Way Partnerships
This fall, the CSA Foundation will be supporting four Project Lead the Way Partnerships in conjunction with residency training programs:
- UCLA, established in 2018
- Stanford, established in 2019
- UC Davis, established in 2022
- And Cedars Sinai Medical Center, which will launch this fall 2024.
These partnerships are led at each residency program by a dedicated and talented partnership director:
- Dr. Sophia Poorsattar at UCLA
- Dr. Felipe Perez at Stanford
- Dr. Reihaneh Forghany at UC Davis and
- Dr. Desean Thom at Cedars.
With sustainable funding, we hope to expand CSA’s Project Lead the Way Partnerships to more institutions in the future. Several other institutions with anesthesiology residency programs have expressed interest including UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UCSF, USC, and Kaiser Permanente in the Central Valley.
Another aspect of our PLTW Partnerships is the engagement of the local offices of our state legislators. Earlier this year, Assemblymember Marc Berman recognized Ms. Elizabeth Brimhall, PLTW Teacher at Palo Alto High School, for her dedication to her students and her contributions to the success of the CSA/ Stanford/PLTW Partnership.
History of Anesthesia Essay Contest
CSA’s History of Anesthesia in California Essay Contest has been led by Dr. Jane Moon for the last several years.
Each year the essay contest is announced to CSA residents, submissions are reviewed and a winner declared by CSA’s Committee on the History of Anesthesia. The winner receives a cash award of $1000 plus registration and travel to the CSA Annual Meeting, where the winner presents their essay.
The 2024 recipient was Jenny (Jia) Tang MD, a CA-2 resident from UCLA Department of Anesthesiology. The title of her essay is “Flying Death in the Operating Room: The Stunning Story of Curious Curare,” which was published as a CSA Online First here
Resident Research Grants
I am pleased to report that at our April meeting, the CSA Foundation Board of Directors authorized the launch of the first round of Resident Research grants, set to begin this fall, with a cash award of $5,000 to the first recipient. With greater funding over time, we hope to increase the cash award and the number of awardees.
Foundation Finances
As you can imagine, a consistent source of funds provides the foundation with the stability, certainty and sustainability necessary to support our existing programs and expand new ones.
I want to recognize the James Guedel Foundation at UCSF, led by Dr. Merlin Larson, which provided the initial source of funding for the CSA Foundation, upon its dissolution.
As well as a generous contribution from the LA County Anesthesia Society, shepherded by Dr. Michele Raney, and received last year.
But the biggest source of funds providing for the Foundation’s sustainability, has been achieved through what we call the ‘Foundation Fix’, an assignment of a small portion of each active CSA member’s dues to the Foundation, which was approved by the CSA Board of Directors and the House of delegates two years ago.
The Foundation Fix has enabled us to grow our finances to the current balance of $126,000.
However, as CSA’s operational finances tighten, we realize we need to grow the non-dues contribution portion of the Foundation’s revenue.
To that end, I am pleased to welcome and announce that the new co-chairs, Drs Andrew Geller and Michael Nurok, at the Cedars-Sinai Department of Anesthesiology have agreed to partner with CSA Foundation for Education, contributing $2500/year to help underwrite the new Cedars/Project Lead the Way Partnership.
We hope to expand this co-funding commitment to include the current residency programs as well as any new programs that choose to establish Project Lead the Way Partnerships ….and also those programs whose residents benefit from Resident Research grants.
Dr. David Drover, CSA Foundation board member, is leading the effort to obtain support from private industry to help fund the Foundation in general and the Fundraising Luncheon specifically.
And finally, of course, thank you – your individual contributions and attendance at the annual Foundation Fundraising Luncheon are always appreciated and welcome.
CSA Foundation for Education Board of Directors
I am pleased to recognize the members of the CSA Foundation for Education Board of Directors, whose guidance and engagement have been key to our success thus far.
Dr. David Drover
Dr. Edgar Canada
Dr. Amanda Darling
Dr. John Shin
Dr. Jane Moon
Dr. Ron Pearl
And Dr. Sophia Poorsattar
In addition to Dr. Karen Sibert, whose vision and persistence was instrumental in establishing the foundation, I’d also like to recognize the leadership of my predecessor, Dr. Gabriel Sarah, who served as the foundation’s first board of directors’ chair. If you would like to obtain more information on the CSA Foundation for Education, the programs we engage in, AND if you’d like to make a personal financial contribution to the Foundation, please visit https://csahq.org/about/csa-foundation-for-education/.
