Collaborative Wound Care Strategy Session Planned for Plastic Surgery The Meeting in Boston
American Society of Plastic Surgeons and American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair to Discuss Fellowship Training to Improve Patient Outcomes

BOSTON, MA – The American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) and the American College of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair (ACWHTR) will hold a joint strategic planning meeting on Oct. 27 in Boston to discuss advanced fellowship training in wound healing and tissue repair.

Since 2011, ACWHTR has trained fellows in wound healing and tissue repair at the University of Illinois at Chicago and helped create similar university-based programs that focus on training non-surgeons in the field of wound healing.

"With more than 6.2 million people in the United States living with non-healing wounds – magnified by an aging society as well as epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the number of patients with these conditions continues to grow," says ASPS President J. Peter Rubin, MD, MBA. "Over the past year, ASPS and ACWHTR have engaged in dialogue about establishing new training paradigms for this much-needed and constantly evolving clinical field."

Nonsurgical providers lead many wound care centers; however, surgeons who provide the needed surgical procedures are also increasingly taking on leadership roles as medical directors, in-patient service chiefs, and leaders in the field.

This strategic planning session is open to all interested providers, medical and surgical professional society representatives, and those currently directing surgical, nonsurgical or hybrid training programs. The goal of the meeting is to improve patient outcomes across many settings by establishing a formal, consistent educational curriculum. ASPS has led the process and proposes a non-ACGME match program for plastic surgery residents to build on the trainee's foundational knowledge in skin and wound care procedures.

"A further objective of the collaboration is to increase the number of nonsurgical fellowships based on the current ACWHTR educational platform," says president and founder of ACWHTR, William J. Ennis. DO, MBA.

The strategic planning and ASPS/ACWHTR Wound Care Fellowship launch meeting will take place at 1:15 p.m. EDT at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center on Oct. 27, during Plastic Surgery The Meeting in Boston. The option to participate virtually is available. Kindly respond to ASPS Senior Vice President Gina T. McClure at gmcclure@plasticsurgery.org for additional information or to register for the virtual event.